Discredited allegations against family members
In a letter dated June 13, 2012, to the
State Department Inspector General, five Republican members of Congress—
Michele Bachmann of Minnesota,
Trent Franks of Arizona,
Louie Gohmert of Texas,
Thomas J. Rooney of Florida, and
Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia—claimed that Abedin "has three family members–her late father, her mother and her brother – connected to
Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations."
[35][36][37] The five members of Congress claimed that Abedin had "immediate family connections to foreign extremist organizations" which they said were "potentially disqualifying conditions for obtaining a
security clearance" and questioned why Abedin had not been "disqualified for a security clearance."
[36] National Review supported the allegations, saying "Saleha Abedin is closely tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and to supporters of violent jihad."
[38]
The claims in the letter were widely rejected and condemned, and were generally labeled as unfounded
conspiracy theories.
[35][39][40][41][42] The Washington Post editorial board called the allegations "paranoid," a "baseless attack," and a "smear."
[35] The Seattle Times compared the letter's accusations to the witch-hunts of
Joseph McCarthy, calling the claims "unsupported ... assaults by an unthinking zealot."
[43] The
Anti-Defamation League condemned the letter as well, referring to it as "conspiratorial" and calling upon the Representatives involved to "stop trafficking in anti-Muslim conspiracy theories."
[41]
The letter was criticized by, among others, House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi and Representative
Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota, the first Muslim-American elected to Congress, who called the allegation "reprehensible."
[40] Senator
John McCain, Republican of Arizona, also rejected the allegations, saying "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."
[40] Republican Senators
Scott Brown of Massachusetts and
Lindsay Graham of South Carolina similarly condemned the letter.
[40] Bachmann's former campaign manager Edward Rollins said the allegations were "extreme and dishonest" and called for Bachmann to apologize to Abedin.
[44]
Former
House Speaker Newt Gingrich defended Bachmann, saying: "There weren't allegations, there was a question", and "the question ought to be asked".
[45]
Abedin was subsequently placed under police protection after she received threats of violence, possibly connected to the allegations.
[46]
Huma Abedin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NaziCons are so dishonest. Why would they want to smear this woman for no logical reason - other than Islamophobia?