Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took to the floor of the upper chamber today to defend Huma Abedin against “sinister attacks” by five House Republicans seeking a probe into potential infiltration into the U.S. government by Islamists.
Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) wrote to the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of State last month asking that he begin an investigation into the possibility that Abedin, top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and wife of ex-congresssman Anthony Weiner, and other American officials are using their influence to promote the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood within the U.S. government.
“To say that the accusations made in both documents are not substantiated by the evidence they offer is to be overly polite and diplomatic about it,” McCain said. “It is far better, and more accurate, to talk straight: These allegations about Huma, and the report from which they are drawn, are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated American, and a loyal public servant.”
The letter alleged that three of Abedin’s relatives have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. “Never mind that one of those individuals, Huma’s father, passed away two decades ago,” McCain said. “These sinister accusations rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma’s family, none of which have been shown to harm or threaten the United States in any way. These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis, and no merit. And they need to stop now.”
The senator said that what’s at stake “is larger even than the reputation of one person.”
“When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it,” McCain said. “…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.”
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