Tulsi Gabbard speaks out after filing $50M defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton

In a statement released Thursday morning, Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard addressed reports that she filed a defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton.

"During my lifetime of service to our country, Hillary Clinton has essentially tried to portray me as a traitor to our country," Gabbard, of Hawaii, said in a news release. "If Hillary Clinton and her allies can successfully destroy my reputation – even though I'm a war veteran and a sitting member of Congress – then they can do it to anybody."

Explore>> Read the full statement here

My statement on defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. https://t.co/HJ4x6OqXCN #StandWithTulsi pic.twitter.com/WQChk5gLgy
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) January 23, 2020

The statement came one day after Reuters and other news outlets reported that Gabbard was suing the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee for $50 million over remarks made during an October podcast. In the interview, Clinton, without mentioning Gabbard by name, claimed that one of the Democratic candidates was "the favorite of the Russians," according to Reuters.

"They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far, and that's assuming [2016 Green party presidential candidate] Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not, because she's also a Russian asset," Clinton said at the time.

Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Clinton, called the lawsuit "ridiculous," Reuters reported Wednesday.