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Tulsi Gabbard sues Hillary Clinton for defamation over Russia comments

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images; Erik Voake/Getty Images for Hulu

2020 Democratic contender Tulsi Gabbard filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Hillary Clinton for defamation over the former secretary of state's implication that the Hawaii congresswoman is a "favorite of the Russians" during an October interview.

The big picture: In the suit, Gabbard claims that her "political and personal reputation" was damaged by the comment and that it caused her to drop in the polls in key primary states.

Background: On David Plouffe's podcast "Campaign HQ" in October, Clinton predicted that one candidate was being groomed by Russia to run as a third-party candidate, saying they're "the favorite" of the country and an "asset." However, Clinton never explicitly mentioned Gabbard by name.

  • Gabbard's foreign policy stances significantly differ from other top Democratic candidates, especially on Syria. She has controversially defended Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and met with him on a secret trip to Syria in 2017.

What they're saying: "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," Brian Dunne, Gabbard's lawyer, said in a statement per ABC News.

Read the complaint:

Go deeper: Trump attacks Clinton on "Hannity," defends Tulsi Gabbard

Go deeper

Dion Rabouin, author of Markets
19 mins ago - Economy & Business

The fragile recovery

Data: Department of Labor; Chart: Axios Visuals

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits is falling but remains remarkably high three weeks before pandemic assistance programs are set to expire. More than 1 million people a week are still filing for initial jobless claims, including nearly 300,000 applying for pandemic assistance.

By the numbers: As of Nov. 14, 20.2 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits of some kind, including more than 13.4 million on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs that were created as part of the CARES Act and end on Dec. 26.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Ben Geman, author of Generate
39 mins ago - Politics & Policy

The top candidates Biden is considering for key energy and climate roles

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has urged President-elect Joe Biden to nominate Mary Nichols, chair of California's air pollution regulator, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: The reported push by Schumer could boost Nichol's chances of leading an agency that will play a pivotal role in Biden's vow to enact aggressive new climate policies — especially because the plan is likely to rest heavily on executive actions.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Courtenay Brown, Felix Salmon
1 hour ago - Economy & Business

U.S. economy adds 245,000 jobs in November as recovery slows

Data: BLS; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. economy added 245,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 6.9%, the government said on Friday.

Why it matters: The labor market continues to recover even as coronavirus cases surge— though it's still millions of jobs short of the pre-pandemic level. The problem is that the rate of recovery is slowing significantly.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow

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