McCain slams Bachmann over Muslim Brotherhood accusations

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(CBS News) Even as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., admonished as "sinister" her accusations linking Huma Abedin - longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., said Wednesday she will "not be silent as this administration appeases our enemies instead of telling the truth about the threats our country faces."

Letters signed last week by Bachmann and four other Republican members of Congress questioning "the Muslim Brotherhood and other radical groups' access to top Obama administration officials," Bachmann said Wednesday, "are unfortunately being distorted." The tea party firebrand and onetime presidential hopeful included in the letters a critique of Abedin's high-profile position considering her family members' ties to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

"The Department's Deputy Chief of Staff, Huma Abedin, has three family members - her late father, her mother and her brother - connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and /or organizations," Bachmann wrote in the letter, which was sent to State Department Deputy Inspector General Harold Geisel, among others. "Her position affords her routine access to the Secretary and to policy making." Abedin is also the wife of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.

Reps. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., and Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., joined Bachmann in signing the letters. But McCain on Wednesday took to the Senate floor to defend Abedin - a "friend," he said, who "represents what is best about America."

Watch some of McCain's remarks Wednesday in the video to the left.

"Rarely do I come to the floor of this institution to discuss particular individuals," the Republican senator said. "But I understand how painful and injurious it is when a person's character, reputation, and patriotism are attacks without concern for fact or fairness."

McCain said Bachmann's allegations "rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma's family," and criticized the letter for neglecting to offer "not one instance of an action, a decision or a public position that Huma has taken while at the State Department or as a member of then-Sen. Clinton's staff that would lend credence to the charge that she is promoting anti-American activities within our government."

After Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., one of two Muslims currently serving in Congress, wrote to Bachmann on Wednesday afternoon asking to back up her claims, Bachmann responded with another letter, quoting a 2002 law review article by the director of the Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations that says Abedin's father "was the founder of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and institution that had the quiet but active support of the then-General Secretary of the Muslim World League, Dr. Umar Abdallah Nasif."

The Muslim World League, Bachmann said, has a "longtime history of being closely aligned and partnering with the Muslim Brotherhood." Pointing out that foreign influence of family members is considered when giving security clearances, Bachmann continued, "given the reasonable assumption that Ms. Abedin has a high-level security clearance... I am particularly interested in exactly how, given what we know from the international media about Ms. Abedin's documented family connections with the extremist Muslim Brotherhood, she was able to avoid being disqualified for a security clearance."

[readg821]

Thank You John McCain-- You are an example of Americans who will stand up and do the right thing, regardless of party affiliation. I wish we had more leaders like you.

[KPeters_from_UK]

by chevyhotrod July 19, 2012 6:05 AM EDT

It appears Congresswoman Bachmann answered Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn and backed up her claims just as she was asked.
-------------------------------------
When? She absolutely has not backed up her claims. Not at all. In fact an update CBS news article goes into the accusations even deeper. This Bachmann is nuts!!!

[roadracer9x]

The big question is: where is Romney's condemnation of this extremist moron? Is he too afraid of loosing the Tea Party support to do "the right thing". Did his 'politics' get in the way of his 'ethics'?

[Choons]

Wow Bachmann. You know, I voted for Obama last election but I've been concerned about the administration's economic policies. Historical values of the GOP such as fiscal conservatism and smaller government appeal to me. I could vote for that. But when I look at Republican "leaders" like Bachmann, Rush Limbaugh, Norquist, Palin, etc. etc. the practical GOP principles I value are utterly overshadowed by all the bizarre witch hunt mentality and moral righteousness that somehow seems to have permeated the party.

Obama will get my vote again, not because I am particularly pleased with job he has done, but because I'm truly concerned that the Republican Party has tipped into a kind of zealotry that seeks to legislate morality at the cost of freedom.

Bachmann it would seem was doing a test run of McCarthyism II. I'm sure she knew that GOP moderates like McCain and Romney would condemn her for it, and that may just be the point. Her defiant attitude about it may signal that she is counting on galvanizing support from far right conservatives to drive a final wedge between the moderates and her brand of Tea Party Republicans. A power play to eliminate moderate voices in the party that obstruct the far right agenda.

[twmat311]

Where's the outpouring of Congressional support from Bachmann? I expected all those statesmen to come rushing to her defense.
Are any of her letter-writing "gang of 5" notable for, well, anything? Or did they think they saw a bandwagon rolling by, and decided to jump on?

[Michele_MacKay]

Bachmann is playing six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Abedin has a deceased family member who was founder of an institution that had the support of another institution that supposedly was aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. Even if all that is true (which, coming from Bachmann, I have to seriously doubt) there's still no hint of any wrongdoing on Abedin's part.

What Bachmann is really saying is "MUSLIM! SCARY!"

It's nice to see the old maverick McCain back. I really didn't like the sell-out McCain.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

This coming from a person who had dual citizenship because of her husband. What investigation was done on her?

"As evidence, she pointed to Abedin's late father, Professor Syed Z. Abedin, and a 2002 Brigham Young University Law Review article about his work. Bachmann points to a passage saying Abedin founded an organization that received the "quiet but active support" of the the former director of the Muslim World League, an international NGO that was tied to the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe in the 1970s through 1990s. So, to connect Abedin to the Muslim Brotherhood, you have to go through her dead father, to the organization he founded, to a man who allegedly supported it, to the organization that man used to lead, to Europe in the 1970s and 1990s, and finally to the Brotherhood".

[anonymous010]

You know, McCain should've run again. He would've blown away all the other GOP 'contenders', and he actually would've stood a chance of taking some liberal voters from Obama. Considering the class he has shown, I would've considered voting for him.

[Rafterman11]

Yes, I will freely admit that Bush, unlike Dick Cheney, has shown grace and class to leave Obama alone to find his own way.

[KPeters_from_UK]

I just choked on my lunch....thanks chevy....you owe me a new shirt.

[infantryman1968]

McCain slams Bachmann over Muslim Brotherhood accusations


LOL!


Obama and his followers put the Muslim Brotherhood into power in Egypt and Libya.

The Irony

[Rafterman11]

Infantry still doesn't understand the use of the word "irony".

And, nope, they were elected by the people of Egypt.

[Lindag20]

Whatever happened to Gaddafi? Didn't you say he was going to remain in power? Needed "boots on the ground", 10 years of fighting, etc. LOL!! The irony.

[quotelawrence]

it is obvious you can walk down the street and see bums and ask them who are you for "Obama", you can ask illegal aliens who are you for "Obama", you can ask Mexican Drug Cartel who are you for "Obama", you can ask thugs, and gang members who are you for "Obama", you can ask rappers who are you for "Obama", you can ask terrorist who are you for "Obama", you can ask the Communist Chinese Government who are you for "Obama", in fact you can ask every enemy known to America who are you for "Obama", but you ask Americans who are you for "America", and those that are trying to defend it, Border Patrol, Army, Navy, Marines, and Air force, ask Police, Firefighters, business people, ask those struggling with bills, and family, ask law abiding citizens, ***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,***>Romney 2012<***,

[bc-1948]

What a bunch of garbage

[Rafterman11]

You can ask morons who you are for "Romney". You can ask reality deniers who you are for "Romney". You can ask the richest Americans who you are for "Romney".

I could go on and on...

By the way, police and firefighters are in public unions. As a whole, they do NOT go for the anti-union GOP.