Tulsi Gabbard. Reuters.
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard is suing Hillary Clinton for $50 million after Clinton called her a "Russian asset". Reuters. The lawsuit says that Clinton was motivated by malice after Gabbard endorsed her 2016 primary opponent, Bernie Sanders. Gabbard claims that Clinton's statements damaged her 2020 run. Clinton said that Russia was grooming one of the 2020 candidates and later confirmed she was talking about Gabbard. Gabbard faces an uphill battle against Clinton as the United States has very strict laws on slander and libel.
My Comment:
I think this case is a very good example of why the defamation laws in America need to change. Under the current laws I sincerely doubt that Gabbard will win this case. Judges rarely rule in favor of plaintiffs in defamation cases and the level of proof needed is extremely high.
In order for Gabbard to win she would need to prove the following things. 1st, she would have to prove she isn't a Russian asset. That shouldn't be hard as the idea is pretty stupid in the first place. 2nd, she would have to prove that Hillary Clinton was acting out of malice. This is harder as it's very hard to prove that Clinton didn't actually believe what she was saying and that she wanted to take revenge on her. Finally, she would have to prove that Clinton wasn't just exaggerating or using hyperbole, which seems almost impossible to prove. If this case went to trial I can't see Gabbard winning.
Personally I do think that Hillary Clinton was trying to defame Gabbard. The women do not like each other and I think Clinton took it personally when Gabbard endorsed Sanders. That was hardly the only thing Gabbard did as she was and is very critical of Clinton's foreign policy. Gabbard is extremely opposed to Clinton's wing of the party and is one of Clinton's most visible critics. Clinton also likes to blame other people for her failures and Gabbard could potentially block the candidate Clinton supports in 2020, which is probably Elizabeth Warren.
I also don't believe for a second that Clinton really thinks that Gabbard is a Russian asset. The whole idea is stupid and I don't think anyone really believes it. Just because Gabbard is opposed to new wars and wants better relations with Russia does not mean that she is some kind of spy for Russia or otherwise a traitor.
However, I do think that there is a chance that Clinton could settle this case. Much like CNN settled with Nick Sandmann, the boy in a MAGA hat that CNN called racist, Clinton probably desperately wants to avoid discovery. A whole lot of embarrassing or possibly criminal information about Clinton could come out during the course of a trial. If the case isn't dismissed, which is a real possibility considering Clinton's connections and power, I am guessing it will be settled out of court with a non-disclosure agreement...
As for Gabbard's presidential run, I don't see this helping her out much. Though there is a large group of Democrats that hate Clinton, most of them are already locked up in the Bernie Sanders camp, which also had a recent skirmish with Clinton. The rest of the Democrats seem to hate Gabbard for both her opposition of Clinton and her foreign policy. Gabbard is popular among Republicans, who also despise Hillary Clinton, but they tend to not vote in Democrat primaries. I don't see this move moving her polling numbers at all.
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