A Democratic presidential candidate is suing Hillary Clinton over a remark she made during a podcast interview.
Tulsi Gabbard filed a defamation lawsuit on Wednesday claiming that Mrs Clinton "carelessly and recklessly impugned" her reputation when she suggested that one of the Democratic 2020 candidates is “the favourite of the Russians”.
The suit, filed in New York, said it hopes to hold Mrs Clinton and other political elites accountable for "distorting the truth in the middle of a critical Presidential election."
Although Ms Gabbard’s name was never mentioned, the four-term congresswoman from Hawaii, was only running along with four other women: Elizabeth Warren , Kamala Harris , Amy Klobuchar and Marianna Williamson.
The Evening Standard has approached Ms Gabbard’s legal team for a comment.
Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP represent the congresswoman and partner Brian Dunne said her reputation has been “smeared”.
As reported by NBC News, Mr Dunne said: “Although Representative Gabbard's presidential campaign continues to gain momentum, she has seen her political and personal reputation smeared and her candidacy intentionally damaged by Clinton's malicious and demonstrably false remarks.”
Mrs Clinton made the Russian comment during an appearance on Campaign HQ with David Plouffe.
She also said that Jill Stein was a “Russian asset” as a third-party candidate in the 2016 presidential election.
The Mueller report – which investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election and congressional investigations, has shown that the country did in fact bolster Ms Stein on social media.
When a CNN reporter asked Mrs Clinton's spokesperson, Nick Merril, whether Gabbard, was the candidate she was referring to, he said: "If the nesting doll fits."
Ms Clintons comments on the podcast created backlash at the time with Mr Trump and fellow Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders speaking out in defense of Ms Gabbard.
