During an interview with the podcast Campaign HQ With David Plouffe in October, former First Lady Hillary Clinton suggested Ms Gabbard was “the favourite of the Russians”. The Democratic presidential candidate insisted these statements are without foundation, and that the former Secretary of State knew or should have known this at the time. Mrs Clinton did not specifically name United States presidential candidate in her remarks, but Fox News reported she strongly implied she was referring to her.
The complaint states that when asked if she was referring to the Presidential candidate, Mrs Clinton’s spokesman Nick Merrill replied “If the nesting doll fits” – a reference to Russian dolls.
The lawsuit filed in the Manhattan federal court on Wednesday says: “Rather than facts or reliable evidence, Clinton’s basis for the Defamatory Statements was one or both of: (a) her own imagination; or (b) extremely dubious conspiracy theories that any reasonable person (and especially Clinton, a former United States Senator and Secretary of State) would know to be fanciful, wholly unverified, and inherently and objectively unreliable.”
Ms Gabbard’s complaint states she is “not a Russian asset and that neither Russia nor anyone else “controls her or her presidential campaign”.
Referring to her roles in public service, from her time in the Army National Guard to her four terms as US congresswoman, the complaint adds Ms Gabbard “has never had her security clearances challenged or revoked”.
It adds that if Mrs Clinton had been aware Ms Gabbard was really a “Russian asset”, she would not have been allowed to serve in these high-profile roles which give her “access to highly sensitive and classified information.”
On why Mrs Clinton would make these comments, Mrs Gabbard claims in the complaint the former First Lady has “a unique, personal connection to Tulsi that animates her hostility towards Tulsi and her presidential campaign.”
The lawsuit claims the statements stem from the Democratic primary in 2016, when Ms Gabbard supported Bernie Sanders in the race against Mrs Clinton.
Ms Gabbard was the highest profile member of Congress supporting Senator Sanders as she was vice chair of the Democratic National Committee at the time.
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The lawsuit says: “Clinton was extremely angry—to put it mildly—that Tulsi endorsed Senator Sanders over her.”
This cites communications Ms Gabbard claims she received from representatives of Mrs Clinton saying her team “no longer trusts Tulsi’s judgment”.
The Democratic Presidential candidate also alleges she was told “that the Clinton team would never forget this slight”, while the complaint states “agents” for the former First Lady informed her they would not assist in her campaigns.
The complaint says: “These agents then forwarded this correspondence to Huma Abedin (Clinton’s closest aide) and John Podesta (chairman of Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign) to gloat about the beatdown they felt they delivered on Tulsi, writing ‘Hammer dropped!’”
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Ms Gabbard also claims her campaign was subsequently impacted by the alleged statements from Mrs Clinton, referring to opinion surveys showing the huge support Mrs Clinton has built.
Since the start of the 2020 Presidential race, national polls have placed Ms Gabbard in low single digits.
The lawsuit says this means Mrs Gabbard has lost potential donors and voters, with damages “estimated to exceed $50 million.”
Ms Gabbard is also seeking special and punitive damages “in view of Clinton’s malicious and unrepentant conduct”, as well as litigation costs and an injunction to prevent the publication of more defamatory statements.
Her attorney Brian Dunne said in a statement: “One would expect someone of Mrs. Clinton’s political background to act with a greater level of maturity and dignity, but her personal hostility toward Rep. Gabbard apparently clouded Mrs. Clinton’s reason and blinded her to U.S. defamation laws.”
But Mrs Clinton’s spokesman Mr Merrill lashed out at the lawsuit, telling Fox News: “That’s ridiculous”.