Presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) told Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Thursday why she is not backing down from the lawsuit she filed against former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for defamation.
Gabbard filed the suit this week for Clinton stating during an interview that Gabbard was a preferred candidate to win the Democratic primary for the Russians because "she’s a Russian asset."
"This is about my life. You know, for so many people in the media, they are saying, 'Oh well, you know, this is just another news story,' but this is my life that we'e talking about here," Gabbard told Carlson.
"For me as a soldier, as every service member does, I took an oath of loyalty to our country. The country that I love. Willing to put my life on the line for our country deploying twice to the Middle East to do so. Still serving in the uniform in the army National Guard today for almost 17 years. The essence of this service, this love of country is who I am," she continued.
"So when you have someone as powerful as Hillary Clinton seeking to smear my reputation, essentially implying that I’m a traitor to the country that I love, what she essentially is doing is taking my life away," Gabbard explained. "So what this lawsuit is about is actually valuing the honor and the loyalty and integrity that every one of our service members embodies and saying that no can try to defame them. We’ll not allow that to go unchecked."
Gabbard said she believes Clinton called her out because she wants to make an example out of her.
"She will silence anyone who dares to cross her," Gabbard said.