Clinton rips 'assault' on top aide

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said several House Republicans' suggestion that one of her top aides is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood was an "assault." Clinton was noting the State Department's annual report on global religious freedom Monday when she was asked to comment on allegations that Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, made recently by several House Republicans in letters to federal agencies, The Hill reported. The five House members asked the State Department's deputy inspector general to investigate Abedin's alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a request condemned by some key Republican leaders. "Leaders have to be active in stepping in and sending messages about protecting the diversity within their countries," Clinton said at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "We did see some of that in our own country. We saw Republicans stepping up and standing up against the kind of assaults that really have no place in our politics." The House members who made the allegations -- Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Trent Franks of Arizona, Tom Rooney of Florida, Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia and Louie Gohmert of Texas -- haven't walked away from their remarks, accusing their accusers of focusing on Abedin – wife of former U.S. Rep. Andy Weiner, D-N.Y. -- instead of the broader risk of infiltration of government by Islamic radicals. Bachmann also accused fellow Minnesota representative, Democrat Keith Ellison, a Muslim, of having ties to Islamic radicals after he questioned her motives. Among congressional Republicans who denounced the remarks were House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, and Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Scott Brown of Massachusetts. The five House members expressed their concerns after Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi won the presidential elections in Egypt.