BREAKING NEWS: Tulsi Gabbard SUES Hillary Clinton for defamation claiming 2016 loser 'smeared' her by linking her to calling her a Russian asset Tulsi Gabbard is suing Hillary Clinton for defamation Clinton indicated she thinks Gabbard is a Russian plant in 2020 race 'Rep. Gabbard must defend her good name,' Gabbard's lawyers said Gabbard's complaint accuses Clinton of retaliating for Gabbard endorsing Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary

Tulsi Gabbard

By EMILY GOODIN, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 09:16 EST, 22 January 2020 

Tulsi Gabbard is suing Hillary Clinton for defamation after Clinton indicated she thinks the Hawaii congresswoman is a Russian plant in the 2020 presidential race.

'Rep. Gabbard must defend her good name,' her lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday. 

The complaint references Gabbard's military service and indicates her belief Clinton was retaliating against her for endorsing Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary. 

'Yet Tulsi put the country before herself, and she publicly endorsed Senator Sanders, becoming the most prominent politician to do so at the time,' the complaint reads. Clinton made her accusation in an October 2019 interview.

Hillary Clinton

Clinton, who lost the 2016 election in part because of Russian interference to help Donald Trump, claimed Moscow was at it again. 

'I'm not making any predictions, but 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 in an interview. 'She's the favorite of the Russians.' 

Clinton did not mention Gabbard by name in the interview with former Obama adviser David Plouffe for his podcast but her accusation appeared directed at the congresswoman from Hawaii, who's been accused in the past of being cozy with Moscow.  

'They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far,' Clinton added. 

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