>> when anyone, not least a member of congress launches specious and denigrating attacks on fellow americans on nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance for what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation and we all grow poorer because of it. >> this never happens, a sitting member of congress publicly scolding other sitting members let alone members of their own party. as we've been reporting, they want the inspectors general of five security agencies to look into what bachmann calls the possible deep penetration, her words, of the muslim extremists in the u.s. government. but they're not talking about a general conspiracy, they're actually pointing fingers at a particular person, this woman, hillary clinton's deputy cheep of staff, implying she may be somehow work on behalf of the muslim brotherhood and questioning how she even got a security clearance. again, senator mccain today. >> to say the accusations made in both documents are not substantiated by the evidence they offer is to be overly polite and diplomatic about it. it is far better and more accurate to talk straight. these allegations and the report on which they're drawn are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated american and a loyal public servant. >> now, this is the thir night we've been reporting this story. and we've gotten some feedback from viewers and tweets, wondering whoo i we're giving congressman bachmann and her four colleagues so much coverage. let me just take a moment before we go on to tell you why. this is a country that's supposed to protect and uphold religious liberty. when any religious group or group of people is targeted without evidence, targeted by sitting members of congress, that is not something anybody should remain silent about. some people have tweeted me saying these are allegations made by political reasons by fringe politicians appealing to their base. that may be true, but these allegations have very real consequences, not just for the individuals unfairly put under a microscope of suspicion, but consequences for our foreign policy, for all of us. it has a real world impact. these allegations are having an impact right now around the world. affecting american porn policy on one of the most sensitive regions on earth in the middle east. we're going to show you how in just a moment. but first, i want to show you what congresswoman bachmann is basing her suspicion of hum huma abedin on. she says that huma abedin's late father, mother and brother are connected to the muslim brotherhood. let's start with abedin's father, again, her dead father, who is a professor of social science and the founder of the institute of muslim minority affairs in saudi arabia decades ago, talking decades ago. bachmann attributes this article out of brigham young university. according to that article, his institute had support of another man named dr. umar abal l la hasif. he's affiliated with a group they say has an alignment with the brotherhood. that's how many degrees of separation the document is based on. abiden's deceased father started an organization decades ago that had support of another guy who had the support of another organization who might have had the support of another organization connected to the muslim brotherhood. because of that she deserves to be investigated. as for abedin's mother and brother, bachmann never gives their connection to the muslim brotherhood. all of these charges are having an impact on u.s. foreign policy. here's how. take a look. these are angry crowds that greeted president clinton and huma abedin over the weekend. they're protesting the election of their new islamist president, some carrying signs saying stop u.s. funding of the muslim brotherhood and, quote, clinton is the supreme god of the muslim brotherhood. where would they get an idea like that? well, it turns out from american blogs and websites. that's what a number of egyptians told reporters. one blogger show directed a reporter to a transcript that alleged she was participating in a muslim brotherhood plot to penetrate the u.s. government. and that source is also michele bachmann's source. the southern poverty law centers calls frank gaffney, the anti-muslim movement's most paranoid propaganda. n norquist, he asked republican candidates to take a pledge not to raise taxes. but gaffney has said that norquist is helping the brotherhood infiltrate the conservative movement. those allegations got gaffney barred from cpac. the american conservative union, by the way, investigated his allegations against reverend norquist and found them, quote, false, unfounded and resolved. quote, its complete confidence in the loyalty of suhail khan, a bush department official, and grover norquist to the united states. he's the intellectual i were inspiration behind the allegations. what makes senator john mccain's statement frankly so bold is other members of congress have been silent or kind of supportive. mike rogers, who chairs the house select committee on intelligence. let me repeat that. he's the chairman of the committee. here's what he said on frank gaffney's radio show, seeming to buy into the muslim infiltration theory, editing fbi training materials to remove language that was anti-muslim. >> michele bachmann is kind of taking the lead on this particular issue and going through and trying to figure out what they took out of the training materials and what they left in and why did it get changed? >> restating, congressman rogers is chairman of the house intelligence committee. he's a very powerfu lawmaker. as for congresswoman bachmann, intent much of today trying to track her down, get her to answer some questions. eshe would not. she released a statement saying her allegations are being distorted. in her statement, she made no connection to huma abedin or john mccain. she made new allegations to a woman given a visa to mt with officials. she belongs to an islamist group that's been designated a terror group by the united states. a lot of people, reports and others, and politicians have raised questions about how this guy got a visa and why he got a visa. the state department telling "the washington post," they're looking into the matter. let's talk about it now with dana bash who spent a lot of today trying to talk to michele bachmann. i understand she was unhappy to see her. what happened? >> good nudews, i can walk fastn heels, but the bad news, michele bachmann can walk just as fast. >> how are you? >> i can't talk right in. >> i just need to talk to you -- >> i can't right now. >> can you do an interview with us later? >> i've got a to get this -- >> now, anderson, i learned over the years, to try to get members of congress to answer questions on the fly, and i've done it many, many times, they're not going to answer, but if a lawmaker says they'll get back to me, i try to take them at her word. she didn't do that. she only put out that statement saying her letters are being distorted. >> she made no mention of huma abedin, trying to take her hands off of that. she's really presented no evidence of that. you also ran into senator mccain after his condemnation which is very rare for you to do. what did he say to you? >> i asked senator mccain what fro prompted him to take such a big step. he says he knows huma personally. he also revealed to me that michele bachmann called him today and she explained she was genuinely worried about muslim infiltration of the obama administration. he said look, huma is not the problem. but mccain isn't the only one to speak out. he's the most public and high profile, but ed rollins, who also ran michelle bachmann's campaign for a short while, he wrote a scathing piece where he called her extreme and dishonest, bachmann had difficulty with her facts and said she was down right vicious. he said what she's doing is akin to mccarthyism. congressional sources said they say bachmann is doing this as a fundraising tool. >> despite the condemnation from mccain and ed rollins, you said this might play well for some in the republican base? >> michelle bachmann's letter came out june 13. if you go back two years ago on june 6, it was the rally against the ground zero mosque in lower manhattan which became a huge election issue, really brought out the tea party and sort of the right wing fringe of the republican party. and so i think that's exactly what's going on right here, or at least that's what bachmann is trying to do. i think she may have gotten a little over her skis and this blew up a little bit in her face. i think she was trying to keep this just for the base audience. she didn't tweet about it or put it on her facebook page, but she did go on a conservative radio show, kind of obscure radio show. i think this was a mess aimed at her base, trying to gin up anti-muslim fever before the election and it grew up too big with condemnations from mccain and ed rollins. >> you' been out in the forefront of reporting on this for a long time. you really put a lot of focus on this and you should get credit on that. we talked about frank gaffney on this program, who really seems to be the soul source behind bachmann and her colleagues' claims. it's interesting, though, you know, i remember when he was going after grover norquist, and that was roundly condemned by a number of conservatives. i mean, there wasn't much there, but he was alleging that grover norquist was trying to get the muslim brotherhood infiltrating the american conservative movement. >> yeah, he's been going after grover norquist for a decade. he said he submitted to sharia law. he's been driven out of the elite in the conservative movement in addition to cpac and the conservative union kboyuaun which includes john bolton. really staunch conservatives. he was kicked out of a strategy lunch, another big con receiver tif stalwart here. there's kind of an interesting dynamic, the tea party versus the accomplishment while he's persona nongrata, people like bachmann and west and other congressmen still listen to him and he has their ear. the republican of the senate used to sit on frank gaffney's board. so he still has a lot of juice in some aspects of the party despite being roundly condemned by other parts of it. >> he's been on the show before, people have any beliefs they want, be uh we're focusing on sitting members of the con and the allegations they are making. is it -- it's pretty -- am i wrong, is it pretty rare for members of congrs to make sheez allegations against individuals without having, i mean, ironclad proof or any real proof other than, you know, her dead father 30 years ago knew a guy who helped his organization who was in league with another organization? is. >> sure, it's very rare. and i just think that alex is saying, i think he's dead on, this was not intended far mainstream audience. this was intended for her base and as i mentioned before, many republicans on capitol hill have said to me as a fundraising tool. she's very, very good at raising money of what we call ring elements of the party. and she wants to keep that going. she makes clear that she wants to raise money and she has a democratic opponent that's going to beat her and she needs the conservative base to come to her. so yes, the answer to your question is, it is very rare. >> i'm sure you' gotten these e-mails as well. i've been inundated by people saying i'm now supporting the muslim brotherhood because i'm now raising questions about her allegations. where does this go? do we if the state department has responded? has other homeland security responded to bachmann? >> we don't yet, but i think nay do take these kinds of things very seriously. she is a it sitting member of congress, she's on the intelligence committee. they have to do their job, they have to respond to these things, but is this the best use of, you know, precious resources in the homeland security party? i really doubt it. >> also, it bears repeating. a couple of things, one, i don't think anybody is saying, you know, extremists would not like to infiltrate the u.s. government. jihadists would like to infiltrate the u.s. government. but again, to make these allegations against individuals without any direct evidence. and alex, as you talked about, if you really believe this is happenli happening, is the best way to go about geing action on this, going on conservative radio shows and putting this information out on your website? or is it actually in confidence and confidentiality, contacting security agencies and asking them to investigate? >> i think that's the key point and that blows up this whole argument that this is a serious attempt on their part. and they've been doing this for years. i talked to a guy today who was a bush administration official who was in the department of homeland security and frank gaffney went after him and it stuck with him together. that's the ploy. almost a google problem like rick santorum had. every time somebody googles him, this is what comes up. >> i just want to underscore one thing, anderson, that you pointed out at the top of the show, which is really, really important. this isn't just about politics, one member of congress going off and another trying to condemn her and the way the u.s. is perceived abroad, particularly hillary clinton with huma over the weekend with protests. i talked to a seniored a min sdrags official w -- administration official th that is a very, very big concern. the whole idea because of the internet and because these blogs do get out there, that people there think the u.s. is sort of in bed, so to speak, with the muslim brotherhood. and the reality is that there's a little bit of confusion with what to do with them versus the christians really is hurtful. >> we need arab speakers, we need people who understand what is happening to work in our intelligence agencies. and this prevents -- you know, who is going to want to work if suddenly you're going to be a suspect because your great uncle knew somebody who knew somebody. i think it raises all sorts of questions. we'll continue to cover it. we appreciate your reporting. i know it's been a long day running around in those heels you were talking about. let us know what you think. tweet to me about this right now at anderson cooper. up next, the debate in the republican party over whether or not mitt romney should put out more tax returns. we'll have that ahead. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? 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