The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - John McCain is defending the honour of an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, chastising fellow Republicans who allege the longtime public servant is a spy for the Muslim Brotherhood.
Five Republican lawmakers including Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman and former Republican presidential hopeful, recently charged that Huma Abedin is an infiltrator for the Muslim Brotherhood, an influential and controversial Islamic movement.
Abedin is also married to Anthony Weiner, a disgraced Democratic congressman who's staunchly pro-Israel.
Such baseless suggestions disgrace Congress, McCain said as he took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to defend Abedin.
McCain spoke to repudiate Bachmann's charges against Abedin. Without mentioning Bachmann's name, McCain called the attacks "unwarranted and unfounded."
He said Abedin, the daughter of immigrants, represents the best about America. He said the attacks from the lawmaker reflects ignorance and defames the spirit of the nation.
Bachmann, however, isn't backing down from her allegations on Wednesday, saying her letter to various federal departments has been "distorted."
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