Tulsi Gabbard is suing Hillary Clinton for defamation, claiming 'Russian asset' comments caused $50 million in damages

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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii).

• Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, said in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday that former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton defamed her when she said Gabbard was a "Russian asset."
• Clinton said in an interview in October that "someone" in the Democratic primary is a "favorite of the Russians" and a "Russian asset," which was widely seen as a reference to Gabbard.
• Gabbard alleges that Clinton caused her $50 million in "significant actual damages, personally and professionally."
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Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton caused her $50 million in damages by saying in October that Gabbard was a "Russian asset" and a "favorite of the Russians."

Gabbard alleges in the suit that Clinton defamed her, causing her "significant actual damages, personally and professionally" that exceed $50 million.

Clinton said in an October interview that the Russians are "grooming" someone in the Democratic primary who is a "favorite of the Russians" and a "Russian asset," which was widely seen as a reference to Gabbard.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, refers to Clinton as having "long coveted" but "not been able to attain" the presidency that Gabbard is seeking. It said that with the lawsuit, Gabbard is seeking to "hold Clinton, and the political elites who enable her" accountable.

After Clinton's comments in October, Gabbard said in a tweet that Clinton is "the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long."

An Insider poll found that the October feud raised Gabbard's profile but decreased her favorability with likely Democratic primary voters.

Gabbard said in a statement on Wednesday that Clinton's comments were a deliberate and malicious "attempt to derail" Gabbard's presidential campaign. The Hawaii representative asked Clinton to retract the comments before she sued, according to the lawsuit.

Clinton "continues to stand by [the comments]. She refuses to apologize. And Tulsi continues to be greatly injured," the suit alleges.

The suit comes a day after Clinton's comments that "nobody likes" Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is also vying for the Democratic 2020 nomination, became public.

A representative for Clinton could not immediately be reached for comment.

Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a ...

- Tulsi Gabbard �� (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019