U.S. media is reporting that Senator John McCain has defended State Department official Huma Abedin against allegations by Congresswoman Michele Bachman that she is an example of Muslim Brotherhood influence within the U.S. government. According to a Huffington Post report:
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) vigorously defended top State Department official Huma Abedin, who is Muslim-American, against allegations by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and other conservatives that she is part of a Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy to infiltrate the U.S. government. ‘These allegations about Huma and the report from which they are drawn are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant,’ McCain said in a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday morning. The accusations stem from a report by the Center for Security Policy. The organization is run by Frank Gaffney, who has been crusading against the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and Sharia law for years. Bachmann, along with Reps. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), recently sent letters to five federal agencies demanding investigations into infiltration by the Muslim Brotherhood, citing Gaffney’s work. McCain never mentioned Bachmann or the other lawmakers by name, but pointedly criticized their letters and the report, noting he had worked with the Center for Security Policy in the past. ‘The letter alleges that three members of Huma’s family are ‘connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations,” he said. ‘Never mind that one of those individuals, Huma’s father, passed away two decades ago. The letter and the report offer not one instance of an action, a decision or a public position that Huma has taken while at the State Department that would lend credence to the charge that she is promoting anti-American activities within our government.’ ‘These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis and no merit,’ McCain added. ‘And they need to stop now.’ Abedin, a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is married to former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is Jewish and strongly pro-Israel. McCain said that he traveled overseas with Clinton and Abedin when Clinton was a senator. ‘I have every confidence in Huma’s loyalty to our country, and everyone else should as well,’ he said. ‘All Americans owe Huma a debt of gratitude for her many years of superior public service. I hope these ugly and unfortunate attacks on her can be immediately brought to an end and put behind us before any further damage is done to a woman, an American, of genuine patriotism and love of country.’ But McCain said his larger reason for condemning Bachmann’s allegations is to stand up for the character of America.
Read the rest here.
A post from yesterday reported that U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison had called Congresswoman Michelle Bachman’s allegations of Muslim Brotherhood influence on the U.S. government “scare-mongering” and compared her efforts to those of Senator Joseph McCarthy. A post from last week reported on the allegations by Bachman and three other Congressmen.
In February 2010, the GMBDW reported exclusively that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had addressed students at the Dar El-Hekma women’s college in Saudi Arabia, known to have been co-founded and patronized by an individual designated as a terrorist by the U.S as well as by important Saudi bankers and members of the Bin Laden family. Congresswoman Bachman cited some of the same evidence about Huma Abedin’s father in a letter of response to Ellison.