Democrat presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has sued former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for defamation, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Wednesday.
In the suit, in which she seeks "special and punitive damages in appropriate amounts," Gabbard claims Clinton "lied" when she claimed Russia was "grooming" her to make a third-party run for president.
In an appearance on the Campaign HQ podcast in October, Clinton was asked about election security in the upcoming 2020 election. Clinton said that she believed Russia was pushing a current Democrat to make a third-party run at the presidency.
"I think they've got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate," Clinton said. "She's the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far, and that's assuming Jill Stein will give it up. Which she might not, 'cause she's also a Russian asset."
When asked if she was referring to Gabbard, Clinton responded: "if the nesting doll fits."
Gabbard responded soon after, calling Clinton the "queen of warmongers" and the "embodiment of corruption."
Gabbard's suit was filed a day after The Hollywood Reporter published a wide-ranging interview with Clinton. In the piece, Clinton took shots at presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and defended her association with movie producer and accused rapist Harvey Weinstein.
