Meet Huma Abedin's Latest Defender: John Boehner
Speaker of the House John Boehner has become the latest high-profile Republican to denounce Michele Bachmann's "pretty dangerous" accusations that Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff and Anthony Weiner's wife, has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. "From everything that I do know of [Abedin], she has a sterling character and I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous," Boehner told reporters during his briefing today. (There's that word again, hmmm ... sterling) As Senator John McCain did yesterday, Boehner is doing his part in taking down accusations put forth by Rep. Michele Bachmann and other conservative congresspersons which allege that Abedin, among others working in the U.S. government, have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Bachmann and Rep. Trent Franks (R-Arizona), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) put those accusations in letters which were sent to five federal agencies, reports The Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel and Jennifer Bendery.
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Boehner said he hadn't yet seen the letters, according to Politico, but his admonishment of Bachmann's crew is notable in that he joins the ranks of high profile Republicans-- denouncing the "dangerous" accusations. Since McCain's fiery defense yesterday, senators like Florida's Marco Rubio and Massachusetts' Scott Brown have voiced their displeasure with Bachmann, but the most scathing seems to be Bachmann's former campaign chairman Ed Rollins, who has come out with a "Shame on You"op-ed on Fox News' s website on Wednesday. Here's Rollins's parting shot:
As a member of Congress, with a seat on the House Intelligence Committee, Mrs. Bachmann you know better. Shame on you, Michele! You should stand on the floor of the House and apologize to Huma Abedin and to Secretary Clinton and to the millions of hard working,loyal, Muslim Americans for your wild and unsubstantiated charges. As a devoted Christian, you need to ask forgiveness for this grievous lack of judgment and reckless behavior.
