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McCain Slams Bachmann, Others, Over Claim Clinton Aide Part Of Muslim Brotherhood

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2008 Republican presidential nominee and Republican Senator John McCain today took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to slam Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and others who are demanding the U.S. government investigate Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Abedin is married to former Congressman Anthony Weiner.

“Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), apparently in need of some attention, has launched some sort of paranoid inquiry into whether the U.S. Congress has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood,” Jason Linkins reported yesterday at The Huffington Post.

Some weeks ago, Bachmann sought the assistance of inspector generals in the State, Homeland Security, Defense and Justice Departments, asking them to investigate potential “policies and activities that appear to be the result of influence operations conducted by individuals and organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

“It appears that there has been deep penetration in the halls of our United States government by the Muslim Brotherhood,” Bachmann told radio host Sandy Rios in June. “It appears that there are individuals who are associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who have positions, very sensitive positions, in our Department of Justice, our Department of Homeland Security, potentially even in the National Intelligence Agency.”

Practicing Muslim and fellow Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) didn’t take to kindly to Bachmann’s insinuations, and sent her a letter asking her to provide him with “a full accounting of the sources you used to make the serious allegations against the individuals and organizations in your letters.” He also warned her that there had better be “credible, substantial evidence” for her claims.

Well, today, Bachmann responded to Ellison with 16 pages worth of “evidence”implicating the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to whom President George W. Bush created a “special envoy” position in 2008, and advocacy groups like the Islamic Society of North America and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Bachmann doesn’t make clear what evidence connects these latter groups to “infiltration” — their mere existence seems sufficient to warrant her paranoia.

But by the far the strangest claim of “infiltration” that she cites is the one she leads off her letter with: longtime Hillary Clinton aide-de-camp Huma Abedin. In her letter, Bachmann tells Ellison that she is concerned about Abedin’s familial connections to the Brotherhood, and raises concerns over her security clearance.

Today, in response, Senator McCain, occasionally known to do the right thing (video), said:

“To say that 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 about Huma, and the report from which they are drawn, are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated American, and a loyal public servant,” according to a report in the New York Daily News:

Abedin, of course, is the wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner. The two told People magazine that they’re back to normal after Weiner’s forced departure from office (and Weiner said he has no immediate plans to run for public office again).

Aside from his broader condemnation of the attacks on Abedin, McCain also spoke on a personal note:

“Some years ago, I had the pleasure, along with my friend, the Senator from South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham, of traveling overseas with our colleague, then-Senator Hillary Clinton. By her side, as always, was Huma, and I had the pleasure of seeing firsthand her hard work and dedicated service on behalf of the former Senator from New York – a service that continues to this day at the Department of State, and bears with it significant personal sacrifice for Huma.

“I have every confidence in Huma’s loyalty to our country, and everyone else should as well. All Americans owe Huma a debt of gratitude for her many years of superior public service. I hope these ugly and unfortunate attacks on her can be immediately brought to an end and put behind us before any further damage is done to a woman, an American, of genuine patriotism and love of country.”

Yesterday as well, McCain also said that Sarah Palin was a better vice presidential candidate than Mitt Romney.

http://embed.5min.com/517420916/

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ao8wIq2HMAg%3Fversion%3D3%26hl%3Den_US

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‘Double-Burned by Trump’: Stefanik Suspends Campaign for Governor

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December 19, 2025

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U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a “staunch” Trump ally, late Friday afternoon suspended her campaign for governor after failing to secure President Donald Trump’s endorsement. The New York Republican also announced she will not seek re-election to Congress.

“I did not come to this decision lightly for our family,” Stefanik said in her statement, while insisting that she would have “overwhelmingly won this primary.” Instead, she decided that “it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York.”

Earlier this year, Congresswoman Stefanik saw her nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations withdrawn. She also battled with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, at times very publicly.

“At war with Johnson and double-burned by Trump, what’s the incentive to finish her term?” asked New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni.

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“WOW,” exclaimed Inside Elections’ Jacob Rubashkin, “a roller coaster of a few years for Stefanik, who seemed on a rocket ship to GOP leadership, then to a UN ambassadorship, then to the gubernatorial nomination, and now with none and headed for the exits.”

Cook Political Report’s Matthew Klein noted that “Stefanik’s path was borderline nonexistent. She was simply way too conservative and Trump-aligned to win in New York state.”

“Quite the rise and fall story,” observed former anchor turned podcaster Chuck Todd. “Sliding doors alternative histories galore with her career.”

“She went from moderate to full MAGA for nothing,” noted HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery.

READ MORE: ‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half

 

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Trump Says He Didn’t Name TrumpRX — After Claiming He Didn’t Know About the Kennedy Center

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December 19, 2025

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President Donald Trump on Thursday said he did not know the Kennedy Center was going to vote to add his name to the iconic memorial to the late president, just one day before the building’s lettering was changed. On Friday, Trump similarly said he was unaware of how a federal prescription drug program, TrumpRX, came to be named.

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that “Trump, a Republican who’s chairman of the board, said at the White House that he was ‘surprised’ and ‘honored’ by the vote” to rename the Kennedy Center.

The TrumpRX website says it is an “official website of the United States government” that “connects patients directly with the best prices, increasing transparency and cutting out costly third-party markups.” It also says it will launch in January.

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On Friday, in a White House event announcing lower drug prices, the president also appeared surprised at how TrumpRX got its name.

“I didn’t name it that — somebody named it that,” the president told reporters.

“And I guess they assumed that — did you name it, Oz?” Trump asked, referring to Mehmet Oz, his Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“Bobby name it?” the president continued, asking about his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“We all named it together” a voice off-screen replied.

“OK, well,” Trump said, “I’m honored to have the name.”

“And so far that that’s turned out ’cause the numbers are so incredible,” he said of the yet-to-be-live program. “It’s an honor.”

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‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half

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December 19, 2025

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Responding to news that unemployment jumped to a four-year high of 4.6%, President Donald Trump lashed out at the “fake news” media and claimed he could slash that number by more than half, to 2%.

In a Truth Social post, the president claimed that the “only” reason unemployment “ticked up” is because “we are reducing the Government Workforce by numbers that have never been seen before.”

He also mischaracterized the unemployment rate as 4.5%, not 4.6%, the official and widely-reported number.

Trump then explained how he could reduce the unemployment rate.

READ MORE: Trump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files

“I could reduce Unemployment to 2% overnight by just hiring people into the Federal Government, even though those Jobs are not necessary,” he wrote.

Trump’s remarks align with comments made one day earlier by Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, as CNN’s Alayna Treene noted.

When asked why the president had claimed that unemployment is down during his Wednesday primetime address, Hassett appeared to suggest that federal government jobs should not be part of the calculation.

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“If you look at the numbers, then there’s really one big factor that explains the difference, and that is that because of tightening government spending,” Hassett told Treene. “We’ve reduced federal employment by 250,000 workers.”

“And so if you adjust the unemployment rate for the fact that there’s been a large loss for government workers, for federal government workers, then you get numbers that are consistent with what the president’s saying.”

Trump finished his post by writing, “I wish the Fake News would report the 4.5% correctly. What I am doing is the only way to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

READ MORE: ‘Downright Weird’: Kennedys Blast New Trump-Kennedy Center Name

 

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