A contender for the Democratic presidential nomination has hit back at Hillary Clinton who suggested she was being given support by Russia.

Tulsi Gabbard spoke out after the former presidential candidate said the Russians had "got their eye on somebody who's currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate".

Mrs Clinton did not name Ms Gabbard directly, but told a podcast: "She's the favourite of the Russians. They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far."

In a series of tweets, Ms Gabbard called Mrs Clinton the "personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long".

She said: "Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain.


"From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a ... concerted campaign to destroy my reputation.

Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a ... — Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019

"We wondered who was behind it and why. Now we know - it was always you, through your proxies and... powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine, afraid of the threat I pose.

"It's now clear that this primary is between you and me. Don't cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly."

Elected in 2012, Mrs Gabbard became the first Samoan American and Hindu member of Congress when she took up her position in the House to represent Hawaii.

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She has undertaken tours in Iraq and Kuwait as a serving soldier with the National Guard, but has come under fire for meeting Syrian president Bashar al Assad and casting scepticism about his military's alleged use of chemical weapons on civilians.

She has also said she wants the US to abandon foreign wars in favour of peace building.

But Mrs Gabbard has struggled to cut through in a race which has seen her polling less than 1% support from voters, and only took part in the October debates because the field was extended to 12 from the previous 10.

Mrs Clinton's comments were criticised by another Democratic nomination candidate, Andrew Yang, who said: "Tulsi Gabbard deserves much more respect and thanks than this. She literally just got back from serving our country abroad."

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Mrs Clinton also accused another politician of being backed by the Russians, the US Green Party's 2016 presidential nominee, Jill Stein.

Mrs Clinton said, after saying that Ms Gabbard was a favourite of the Russians: "And that's assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not, because she's also a Russian asset."

Ms Stein was one of Mrs Clinton's opponents in the election she lost to Donald Trump.

Mrs Clinton has previously blamed Ms Stein and others for her defeat, including the Russians.