Tulsi Gabbard drops defamation suit against Hillary Clinton

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, dropped her defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton Wednesday, ending a brief legal battle over comments made by the former secretary of state suggesting the congresswoman had ties to Russia.

Gabbard filed the $50 million lawsuit after Clinton said in an October 2019 interview that one of the Democratic presidential contenders was "the favorite of the Russians" and a "Russian asset." Gabbard, who served in the Army National Guard, was a presidential candidate at the time.

Clinton didn't mention Gabbard by name, but her spokesman later said “if the nesting doll fits … ” a reference to popular Russian dolls.

In a court filing, Gabbard's lawyers dismissed the legal action.

“While they remain certain of the action's legal merit, they are just as certain that this new COVID and post-COVID world require them to focus their time and attention on other priorities, including defeating Donald Trump in 2020, rather than righting the wrongs here,” the attorneys said, according to The Hill.

The lawsuit contended that Clinton had no “no basis for making her false assertions." Gabbard claimed the former 2016 presidential candidate had "a unique, personal connection to Tulsi that animates her hostility towards Tulsi and her presidential campaign.”

She also claimed that Clinton's hostility stemmed from her support for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the 2016 Democratic primary.

"Clinton was extremely angry—to put it mildly—that Tulsi endorsed Senator Sanders over her," the lawsuit said.

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Gabbard dropped her longshot White House bid in March and has endorsed Joe Biden.

Fox News' Ronn Blitzer and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.