CNN 2012-07-25

 I’m Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching the podcast. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann doubling down on bogus allegations against the Muslim American State Department Aide while deniying she’s doing it. "Keeping Them Honest" and also "The RidicuList." Let's get started.

 

We begin tonight "Keeping Them Honest" with the continuing escalating¹, and most importantly, unproven allegations by five Republican members of Congress that the U. S. Government is being infiltrated² and subverted³ by radical⁴ jihadists, members of the Muslim Brotherhood⁵. 

 

Minnesota Republican congresswoman, Michele Bachmann, and four GOP House colleagues are leading the charge, the Congresswoman, with Congresswoman Bachmann today expanding her charges while, at the same time, oddly claiming she's not doing exactly what she's doing. 

 

As we've reported, Bachmann and the others have asked the inspectors⁶ general of five security agencies to look into what Bachmann calls the possible deep penetration⁷ of the U.S. government by Muslim extremists. Now perhaps most shocking of all, they're implying that this woman, in particular, Huma Abedin, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff, may somehow be working on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood and they're questioning how she got a security clearance⁸. 

 

Now to be honest, after our report last night, we really thought this story might be over. We've reported on this for several days. We thought it might be over yesterday. After all Miss Bachmann received an extraordinary public scolding from fellow Republican John McCain on the Senate floor. She was also condemned⁹ by other members of her own party - John Boehner, Scott Brown, even her own former presidential campaign manager Ed Rollins said she ought to be ashamed of herself. 

 

But it turns out Congresswoman Bachmann is not backing down. Instead, it seems today, she's actually doubling down. What she isn't doing, neither she nor her four colleagues, is coming on this program to back up her allegation. We've asked them all, they've all said no. 

 

Now remember when last we saw the congresswoman, she was refusing to answer our questions yesterday, moving as fast as possible away from our reporter Dana Bash. 

 

Hey, Congresswoman, how are you? 

 

Sorry, I can't right now. I'm …  

 

I just need to ask you about, Senator McCain was just on the Senate floor and he said that what you're doing … 

 

I'm sorry, I can't right now. 

 

… going after Huma. 

 

I'll be happy to tell you, but I can't do it right now. 

 

Can you do an interview with us later? 

 

Yes, yes, but I've gotta get this … 

 

All right. Thank you. 

 

She said she'd get back to Dana when she had more time but guess what, she never did. Today, though, the congresswoman found time to go on Glenn Beck's program and spoke¹⁰ once again about her suspicions of Huma Abedin. Now listen closely because she actually ups the ante(加大赌注), leveling entirely¹¹ new charges against Huma Abedin's family. 

 

She is the chief aide for the, to the secretary of state. And we quoted from a document and this has been well reported all across Arab media, that her, her late father, who's now deceased, was a part of the Muslim Brotherhood. Her brother was a part of the Muslim Brotherhood. And her mother was a part of what's called the Muslim Sisterhood. 

 

It would be, we have requirements to get a high level security clearance. One thing that the government looks at are your associations and, in particular, your family associations. And this applies to everyone. It would be the same that is true with me. If my family members were associated with Hamas, a terrorist organization, that alone could be sufficient to disqualify me from getting a security clearance. 

 

Well now … 

 

So all we did is ask, did the federal government look into her family associations before she got a high level security … 

 

OK, so let's talk about what she just said because what she said about Huma Abedin just today, her and her family, that statement today, it goes far beyond her prior allegations. Today, as you just heard, Congresswoman Bachmann said flat out that Huma Abedin's father was part of the Muslim Brotherhood and so was her brother. 

 

Now in the past, Bachmann in writing didn't directly attempt to link Miss Abedin's deceased father to the Muslim Brotherhood. She claimed that an organization he started decades ago allegedly had the support of another guy who had another organization that might have had the support of another organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. 

 

As for her allegations against her brother and mother, well, in the letter she sent to Congressman¹³ Ellison after he demanded she back up her insinuations, Congresswoman Bachmann only cited three items as evidence of Abedin's brother and mother's alleged¹² ties to radical Islam. All, by the way, are from blogs in the Arab world with second or third hand information at best. 

 

Now that insinuates¹⁴ a lot. Doesn't prove anything. Which is why John McCain, in part, said what he said yesterday. 

 

These allegations about Huma Abedin and the report from which they are drawn¹⁵ are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated¹⁶ American and a loyal public servant.

1 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

2 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 subverted   

v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠

参考例句：

• Their wills could be subverted only by death. 只有死神才能使他们放弃他们的意志。 来自教父部分
• Indiana State laws deliberately subverted the intent of the constitutions 14th Amendment. 印第安纳州的法律有意歪曲联邦宪法第十四条修正案的愿意。 来自辞典例句

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

6 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

8 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

13 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

14 insinuates   

n.暗示( insinuate的名词复数 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入v.暗示( insinuate的第三人称单数 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入

参考例句：

• Slang insinuates itself into the language. 俚语慢慢地渗入语言中。 来自辞典例句
• But the division of labor slowly insinuates itself into this process of production. 但是，分工慢慢地侵入了这种生产过程。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

15 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

16 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。