Former Obama administration adviser Van Jones accused Hillary Clinton of smearing presidential hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) "with no facts."
Clinton accused Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, of acting as a "Russian asset" on Friday. Jones dismissed Clinton's criticism as a "complete smear" that spread "disinformation."
"She's playing a very dangerous game," he told CNN. "Hillary Clinton, if you're concerned about disinformation, what the Russians do is they spread disinformation, they get us divided against each other. That is what just happened, just throw out some information, disinformation, smear somebody."
The failed 2016 Democratic nominee accused Gabbard and 2016 candidate Jill Stein of working with the Russians to get President Donald Trump reelected in 2020. Jones said Clinton is likely speaking out against Gabbard because the congresswoman broke with Democratic leadership in the 2016 election and endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) over Clinton.
"It's been payback hell ever since," Jones said.
Gabbard responded to the attacks by calling on Clinton to "join the race directly."
"It's now clear that this primary is between you and me," Gabbard tweeted. "Don't cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly."