ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Already facing bipartisan criticism for explosive allegations, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has accused a fellow Minnesota congressman of having associations with the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist group with political strength in Egypt.
In an interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck on Thursday, Bachmann defended her call for national security agencies to investigate alleged Muslim Brotherhood connections to U.S. government and said Democrat Keith Ellison has an ulterior motive for wanting to block a probe.
"Well, he has a long record of being associated with CAIR and with the Muslim Brotherhood," she said of Ellison, referencing the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator, as stated in the large terrorist financing case that we've had in the United States of America and so he came out and essentially wanted to shut down the inspectors general from even looking into any of the questions that we were asking."
The third-term Minnesota congresswoman has been scolded by leading Democratic and Republican lawmakers for insinuating that a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has family ties to the group. And Ellison, who represents a district adjacent to Bachmann's, has condemned her remarks about alleged State Department infiltration as akin to McCarthyism.
Ellison called Bachmann's accusation about him and his motives untrue.
"I don't have any Muslim Brotherhood connections that she's talking about," he said on CNN. Ellison was not made available to The Associated Press on Friday.
Bachmann, a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, has not fulfilled an interview request from The AP.
In recent days, Republicans ranging from House Speaker John Boehner to Arizona Sen. John McCain have denounced suggestions from Bachmann and four congressional allies that longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin has family connections to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations. The unsubstantiated allegations were initially drawn from a think tank study and Internet reports.
"I'm not sure what the basis of these claims may be, but this is dangerous stuff to be throwing around without a lot of facts," Boehner said Thursday on CNN.
Bachmann told Beck that her critics were off base.
"Now what's happened is the attack machine has been turned on myself and the other members of Congress who have been asking the questions, that somehow we're the Muslim haters, we're the witch-hunters, we're the new Joe McCarthyites because we're asking these questions," she said.
Bachmann, who ran for president last year, is seeking a fourth term representing a district that covers several northern Twin Cities suburbs and runs west to St. Cloud.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Comments (77)
Add commentMaybe she gets it.
Michelle might understand how muslims infiltrate and corrupt countries. Look at history! Look at our political correctness that the Ft.Hood shooter was known to have ties to terrorist groups and we didn't want to look at the elephant in the living room. Now how many honorable American soldiers are dead? PC is going to be the death of our country if we don't get over it, learn from history and start connecting the dots and asking questions.
Maybe, tpooh
or maybe she is the most narcissistic politician in history. She has been talking without thinking of the consequences since she has been in the public eye. Her party and her poor showings in the primaries have told her, no, we don't want you to represent us, but she is not listening.
Embarrassing woman!
And this person is on the Intelligence Committee! What kind of classified information is she revealing; what American lives is she endangering?
Time to go, Michele.
Your 15 minutes of fame is up.
Duplicate
Sorry
When people like John McCain, John Boehner
and even your own ex-campaign manager and republican operative Ed Rollins are critical, Michele, maybe it's time to consider the possiblity that you're a major whack job (and political toast). Bye bye!
Huma Abedin, married to disgraced ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner
Hillary steps in and is doing everything on her part to make sure Huma has a job. Let's see; disgraced ex-president and disgraced ex-congressman and two vindictive women! And no one sees a problem here?
I see a problem
Named pdnet...
Well Pd, if they
are gay it's OK.
And southie, " no, we don't want you to represent us"
You haven't voted her out yet so take a walk "Time to go"
"Your 15 minutes of fame is up". Do you even have the right to vote against her? If so, go back to your district to promote communism.
Bachmann can raise cash...
Does it translate to her election in the new 6th District in 2012...
Facts...The new 6th District is very Conservative and Republican leaning.
However, I would counter than even Conservatives and/or Republican leaning folks would have to acknowledge Joseph McCarthy (yup folks, lots of google on him, Wisconsin Senator) was a little out there...
Why bring Joseph into the fray? Seeking out Communists back in the day and doing Guilt by Association...Same thing Michele is practicing now...
Yes, Fair and Balanced, I pulled in your favorite word lately, Communists...At last count, there are fewer, not more of them...Reagan helped take care of this years ago...
Calling Michele a slam name like Michele McCarthy is name calling and it's not in fashion...
So, I resort to what I've heard/seen in the past few days...
* A Senior Senator member named John McCain is expressing concern
* A Senior House member named John Boehner is expressing concern
Naming a fellow House Member by name, Keith Ellison, just because he happens to be Muslim is also doing Guilt by Association...
Channel 9 News (Fox News, Twin Cities) went to Stillwater, MN and St. Cloud, MN in the past few days...
Michele does not represent Stillwater, MN in the new 6th.
She does however have to run for office in the new 6th including St. Cloud...
Needless to say, in visiting St. Cloud, MN, Channel 9 News had a tough time finding anyone on the street that had any thing positive to say about Michele...
Yes, she can raise cash...Depends if the new 6th District folks are sending it or outside the new 6th District...
In November 2012, let's see how well that cash pays out...
Just the facts...
One fact is
that Obama's personal mentor was an avowed communist and Obama hat shown that he has communist dictator capabilities. That's enough for me. You lefties worry about Michelle Bachmann when you should be worring about Michelle Obama, Da Da.
James Holmes, San Diego native
Aurora, CO shooter.
Non-Muslim.
I hope Michele takes notice.
Fair, spell it ...Right...
Michele...
not
Michelle...
One Michelle spells it
Michele so she doesn't get too close to your Michelle, so what? It's not as if she could get that close to that wide Michelle anyway.
Hey Dutch, what's with ABC slandering that guy over the shooting out there? I'd think a bunch of dopes dressing up like that would pretty much hide all of you libs up here and they go after the wrong people. Ooops, just like AZ right?
Sheeesh.
I'm all for hunting but..
when I saw that assault rifle he used, I had to wonder WHO really needs this gun?? should they be sold to civilians?
It appears they are used for people hunting, not deer hunting.
I heard that
Holder's BATF sold it to him. Along with a dozen others.
Bachmann is on the Intelligence Committee and is Right.
Bachmann has more balls than the RINOs and others that criticize her. She is right for looking into the Muslim apparatus that seeks to take over America. Before anyone criticizes her you should do some reading and go through the former Assist. Sec. of Defense Frank Gafney course. If he is wrong the Muslim Brotherhood then Ellison should sue him.
Former Assist. Sec. of Defense Gafney defends Bachmann. Gaffney claims the Muslim Brotherhood strategic plan is to evoke a "civilization-jihadist process," a war from within that will erase Western culture. He strongly defends Bachmann's calls for an investigation. "My view of all of this is any of the people who are now taking her specifically to task..troubled themselves to do even a fraction of the homework she has done, they would understand the requests being made are entirely justified and necessary," he says. "For them to make statements that she is a fringe or a conspiracy theorist or uninformed is really not only offensive, but cheeky since they haven't done any due diligence of their own."
Instead of sticking our head in the sand, holding hands and singing "kum ba yah". People should have been watching and doing their due dilligence, 9/11 probably never would have happened. more than 3,000 Americans died because of Muslim ignorance. We are according to the Muslim world the "Great Satan." Israel is the "little Satan." Before people spew their ignorance and look for a fallacious reason to attack someone looking out for us and our families. Do some homework and maybe go live in a Muslim country to understand them.
Thank you Rep. Bachmann for doing your job and looking out for all Americans.
http://muslimbrotherhoodinamerica.com
http://shariahthethreat.org
Take the coarse, get informed then lets talk about the facts.
I honestly don't care about
I honestly don't care about either MIchelle however they
spell their name. She may not be the right messenger
for the Muslim Brotherhood problem, but who else
is stepping up to the plate?
I don't trust CAIR or Keith Ellison. It would be a good thing
if some of the fine congresspeople would actually read
some documents and investigate. Nothing is going on in the
Senate.
Political correctness has gone way too far.
JJ
Now I know you are the guy on the speakeasy.
It's Ellison, BTW.
Which guy do you think JJ is, southie?
Because I'm quite sure it isn't Guy Green, having read many of his posts on the BD in the past.
Southie is Andrea (DCMWTF) Mitchell
Southie, now I know that you are Andrea (don't confuse me with the facts) Mitchell just taking DNC talking points and regurgitating them on this blog.
Sorry "Andrea" but I am not the guy on the Speakeasy. Why is that so important to you?
Not the guy on Speakeasy but ...
... I stayed at a Holiday Inn! Lol!
Which outlined details of Rep. Bachmann's letter
do you disagree with?
http://bachmann.house.gov/uploadedfiles/letter_to_rep._ellison.pdf
She does get it
You have to research the involvement of Obama and many of his cabinet to understand the extent of his ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. To all of the deniers, wait until we have Sharia law. Wait until our country no longer is ours. What better way to overtake a government than through the most subtle way possible...by having enough elected officials to change it.
Really JJ?
I almost spit my coffee on the keyboard. Gaffney, the one who claims CPAC is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The one who said Grover Norquist and Osama Bin Laden have the same view of America. Said ole Grover is in bed with the Brotherhood.
Its not these loonies that worry me, its the fools that follow them.
Hitler wouldn't have done crap to this world without his armies. Remember Jonestown? The one where the term drinking the Kool-aid got its notoriety from.
By the way the Senate never confirmed him to his post, so he was only in it a few months.
The scariest
part about this story are the nuts who agree with her.
sometimes this feels like a waste of time
but then I read the above post and realize sane people are out there.....thanks suicideispainless !
Fundamentalist Muslims bear watching...
all fundamentalists do IMHO.
But that does not condemn a whole religion.
Oklahoma ban on Sharia Law amendment overturned.
Nice ultra conservative state, but not so constitutional laws written there.
The courts ruled that the driving force behind it was religious bigotry.
Hmm...Oklahoma...Bachmann attending Oral Roberts U in Oklahoma..what a coincidence.
She should move there and teach law. Oh that's right. ORU lost its law school accreditation right after she graduated.
The Mystery: Why are American Women in favor of Sharia law?
Most of us love America because of its approach to women. In the free world men and women here are treated as equals under the law. This is not the case in Muslim countries. Muslims do not and the Muslim law of Sharia does not. Male Muslim dictators make women walk around the hot deserts wearing burqas. Women are men's "property." Also female "honor killings" are condoned under sharia law. You have to be a total wackjob to defend this as a free woman and want sharia law in the United States. I think we should stand to free women not only in our country but we have an obligation to help free them around the world where we have influence. Why are liberal groups such as the National Organization for (liberal) Women and others so silent on this outrageous woman slavery?
"You have to be a total wackjob to defend this"
I rest my case.
Oklahoma:
creating an issue where it doesn't exist. Oklahoma law already outlaws sharia law but let's have an amendment against it, too. Sound familiar, Minnesota?
From Edward R Murrow
No one is defending Sharia law here. Its the exploiting the fear of it is whats wrong here. As with McCarthyism we weren't in danger of communism, but the fear of it was ripping apart society. In a documentary Murrow said it best..
"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, of one another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep into our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended of fearful men."