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Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against former First Lady Hillary Clinton.
A press report released from Gabbard's campaign announced the lawsuit Wednesday. Gabbard's lawyers
previously demanded Clinton retract her comments, where she claimed Gabbard was the
Russian's favorite candidate.
"Tulsi Gabbard, a United States Congresswoman, Army National Guard Major, and 2020 presidential candidate, today filed a defamation lawsuit against Hillary Rodham Clinton,"
according to the press release.
"Gabbard, a U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district, asserts in her complaint that Clinton deliberately and maliciously made false statements in an attempt to derail Rep. Gabbard's campaign, by alleging that Gabbard is a 'Russian asset.' Gabbard's lawyers previously called the statements "defamatory" in a letter released in November following Clinton's comments, which were made in October. Clinton also suggested that Gabbard was being groomed "to be the third-party candidate," which the Hawaii congresswoman denied.
"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 October. "She's the favorite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her, so far."The defamation lawsuit "seeks compensatory damages and an injunction prohibiting the further publication of Clinton's defamatory statements," according to the press release.
Comment: More from
Fox News:
"Clinton lied about her perceived rival Tulsi Gabbard," the lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in New York, read. "She did so publicly, unambiguously, and with obvious malicious intent. Tulsi has been harmed by Clinton's lies — and American democracy has suffered as well."
In October, Clinton said that an unnamed Democratic presidential candidate was "the favorite of the Russians."
"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, speaking on a podcast with David Plouffe, a former adviser to President Obama.
Although she never named Gabbard, a four-term congresswoman from Hawaii, there were just five women running for president at the time: Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Marianne Williamson.
When a CNN reporter asked Clinton's spokesperson, Nick Merril, whether Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard, was the candidate she was referring to, he said: "If the nesting doll fits," a reference to Russian nesting dolls.
Gabbard's suit claimed she suffered "significant actual damages, personally and professionally, that are estimated to exceed $50 million — and continue to this day."
Clinton's remarks at the time ignited a political firestorm, evoking responses in defense of Gabbard from both President Trump and fellow Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. Clinton has not responded publicly to the suit and did not immediately respond to a FOX Business request for comment.
Gabbard's suit suggests that Clinton targeted her with a false accusation for "retribution" over her endorsement of Sanders, Clinton's rival in the Democratic primary, in 2016. (Sanders eventually endorsed Clinton for president in July 2016).
"Tulsi was told that the Clinton team would never forget this," the suit says.
Twitter was quick to jump on the court filing, which included a dig at the long string of
mysterious deaths that seem to follow the Clinton Machine:
Here's hoping this doesn't come to pass...
Oops! Killary Clinton accidentally posts condolences for Tulsi Gabbard's suicide a day early
She will absolutely lose. It will probably be thrown out of court by the liberal judge based on the liberal lawyer's "arguments".
i.e. we could all be killed if we cross this O.G. hag.