CNN 2012-07-22

 Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper, welcome to the podcast, the tenuous 1 evidence, the lips of logic 2 behind the inflammatory claim that Islamist extremes or infiltrating 3 the US government. Keep them honest, pass the ridiculous, let's get started.

We begin tonight, keep them honest with  5 members of  congress were claiming that Muslim extremes have infiltrated 4 the highest level in the US government, even maybe working side by side with Secretary Hillary Cliton, the evidence they point to, however, it's questionable 5 adviced, represent Michele Bachmann and 4 from republican colleagues in Congress are calling for investigation 6 because what she turns the possible deep penetration 7 her words-Muslim extremes into the Us government. These lawmakers have laid out teir case in letters to inspector's general for 5 different government's security agencies, and the last 24 hours, we've been digging into one of their most serious claim, they point finger at this woman, Huma Abedin, secrectary of state Hillary Cliton's deputy chief staff, she may be somehow working on behalf of the muslim brotherhood 8 and questioning how she got security clearance 9. Now you would think, to make a charge like that, for sitting members of Congress to make a charge like that, that they would have some actual evidence, right? you would think that, but the truth is they don't have any direct evidence, what they have are allegations or pass collections of relatives of hers, their tenuous advice. Democratic Congressmen Keith Alison we interview tonight who's muslim has called for Bachmann to produce credible 10 evidence, so Bachmann produces a 60-page letter that she sends the Congressmen, stay with me now, because we are gonna walk through the logic that she lays out in this particular case. Bachmann says that Huma Abedin's mother, brother and late father are connected to the muslim brotherhood, here is how she figures it, let's start with Abedin's father, a man named S Abedin, who is dead by the way, a professor of social science and a founder 11 of the institute muslim manority affairs in jihad authority Arabia decades ago.  Now Bachmann attributes this information to 2002 law review article at Bremgen University, according to that article, professor Abedin is instituted, had the support of another man, named doctor Wuma AL who is a former general secretary of another group called the muslim whirling, Bachmann says that according to the pure form, the muslim whirling has a history of quote been closely allied 12 and part rang with the muslim brotherhood, so that's how many degrees of separation Bachmann's claim is based on, Huma Abedin's deceased father who started an organization decades ago had the support of a guy who had another organization that might have had the support of another organization-the muslim brotherhood, and because of that, HUma Abedin might be some sort of spy or infiltrator 13 and deserves to be investigated. As for Abedin's mother and brother, Bachmann never gives any evidence of their allegations to the muslim brotherhood, we do know Bachmann and her fellow lawmakers repeatedly signed their source, the work of group pulled the center security policy,a pretty serious sounding name, it's website is muslim brotherhood into america.com. The man who runs the group is Frank G who says the muslim brotherhood is inflitrating every aspect of American life in order to improverish a law, now the suddent public law center calls G that quote the anti-muslim movements most paranoid propaganded, before G was focusing on Huma Abedin by the way, he was pointing fingers to suspicion, a conservative * who's married to a muslim woman, those allegations by the way were condemned 14 by number of conservative groups, G was actually not allowed to seapark one year because of these allegations. Now we should also point out this is not the first time the Bachmann had relied on questionable sources and lips of logic, you may remember  2 yars ago right here in this program, Congressmen Bachmann made pretty egregious 15 claims about the cause of the trip president was taking to India, saying that it would cost tax pay, 200 million dollars a day, wasn't true, totally false, and it turned out the source of her unsubstantial claim was an Indian news report tha quoted an anonymous 16 Indian source allegedly an Indian government prevention offcial, now how would Indian prevention offcial would even know how much the president of the US trip cost, doesn't make sense, it was apparently 17 never even questioned about the Congresswoman. Among these cast here, all of we've come up with this program, wo should point out Bachmann is not the only who has a history of making unsupported claim, one of the 4 other congressmen calling for an investigation to rule out infiltration 18 in the US government is Luious Gowmer from Texas, now this is not first time congressmen Gowmer spoke 19 about dangerous conspiracies 20 without providing concrete evidence, in 2002, he was sounding alarm over where we turn, excuse me, 2008, he was sounding alarm over where we turn terror babies, a terror baby conspiracy 21, making this explosive claim that pregnant foreigners were coming to America to give bith to future terrorist babies with US citizenship 22 until 14, who would then be taken back to middle east, raised for about 20 years,trained overseas in terrorist, and then be able to come back to United States, because they had US passport and citizenship, right? In a speech on the house floor congessmen Gowmer actually presented all these facts, saying former FBI agent told the FBI he's been looking into this problem, later in he decided 23 a second source, a Humas living grandmother on a plane in the middle east, and actually I had a lot of questions for the Congressmen.