CNN 2012-07-25

 I’m Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching the podcast. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann doubling down on bogus allegations against the Muslim American State Department Aide while deniying she’s doing it. "Keeping Them Honest" and also "The RidicuList." Let's get started.

 
We begin tonight "Keeping Them Honest" with the continuing escalating 1, and most importantly, unproven allegations by five Republican members of Congress that the U. S. Government is being infiltrated 2 and subverted 3 by radical 4 jihadists, members of the Muslim Brotherhood 5. 
 
Minnesota Republican congresswoman, Michele Bachmann, and four GOP House colleagues are leading the charge, the Congresswoman, with Congresswoman Bachmann today expanding her charges while, at the same time, oddly claiming she's not doing exactly what she's doing. 
 
As we've reported, Bachmann and the others have asked the inspectors 6 general of five security agencies to look into what Bachmann calls the possible deep penetration 7 of the U.S. government by Muslim extremists. Now perhaps most shocking of all, they're implying that this woman, in particular, Huma Abedin, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff, may somehow be working on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood and they're questioning how she got a security clearance 8. 
 
Now to be honest, after our report last night, we really thought this story might be over. We've reported on this for several days. We thought it might be over yesterday. After all Miss Bachmann received an extraordinary public scolding from fellow Republican John McCain on the Senate floor. She was also condemned 9 by other members of her own party - John Boehner, Scott Brown, even her own former presidential campaign manager Ed Rollins said she ought to be ashamed of herself. 
 
But it turns out Congresswoman Bachmann is not backing down. Instead, it seems today, she's actually doubling down. What she isn't doing, neither she nor her four colleagues, is coming on this program to back up her allegation. We've asked them all, they've all said no. 
 
Now remember when last we saw the congresswoman, she was refusing to answer our questions yesterday, moving as fast as possible away from our reporter Dana Bash. 
 
Hey, Congresswoman, how are you? 
 
Sorry, I can't right now. I'm …  
 
I just need to ask you about, Senator McCain was just on the Senate floor and he said that what you're doing … 
 
I'm sorry, I can't right now. 
 
… going after Huma. 
 
I'll be happy to tell you, but I can't do it right now. 
 
Can you do an interview with us later? 
 
Yes, yes, but I've gotta get this … 
 
All right. Thank you. 
 
She said she'd get back to Dana when she had more time but guess what, she never did. Today, though, the congresswoman found time to go on Glenn Beck's program and spoke 10 once again about her suspicions of Huma Abedin. Now listen closely because she actually ups the ante(加大赌注), leveling entirely 11 new charges against Huma Abedin's family. 
 
She is the chief aide for the, to the secretary of state. And we quoted from a document and this has been well reported all across Arab media, that her, her late father, who's now deceased, was a part of the Muslim Brotherhood. Her brother was a part of the Muslim Brotherhood. And her mother was a part of what's called the Muslim Sisterhood. 
 
It would be, we have requirements to get a high level security clearance. One thing that the government looks at are your associations and, in particular, your family associations. And this applies to everyone. It would be the same that is true with me. If my family members were associated with Hamas, a terrorist organization, that alone could be sufficient to disqualify me from getting a security clearance. 
 
Well now … 
 
So all we did is ask, did the federal government look into her family associations before she got a high level security … 
 
OK, so let's talk about what she just said because what she said about Huma Abedin just today, her and her family, that statement today, it goes far beyond her prior allegations. Today, as you just heard, Congresswoman Bachmann said flat out that Huma Abedin's father was part of the Muslim Brotherhood and so was her brother. 
 
Now in the past, Bachmann in writing didn't directly attempt to link Miss Abedin's deceased father to the Muslim Brotherhood. She claimed that an organization he started decades ago allegedly had the support of another guy who had another organization that might have had the support of another organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. 
 
As for her allegations against her brother and mother, well, in the letter she sent to Congressman 13 Ellison after he demanded she back up her insinuations, Congresswoman Bachmann only cited three items as evidence of Abedin's brother and mother's alleged 12 ties to radical Islam. All, by the way, are from blogs in the Arab world with second or third hand information at best. 
 
Now that insinuates 14 a lot. Doesn't prove anything. Which is why John McCain, in part, said what he said yesterday. 
 
These allegations about Huma Abedin and the report from which they are drawn 15 are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated 16 American and a loyal public servant.