Bachmann shuns 'political correctness'

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 31 (UPI) -- After accusing two public officials of ties to radical Islam, Rep. Michele Bachmann said she can't choose political correctness "over national security."

While in Minnesota to observe work on the new St. Croix River bridge, Bachmann brushed off backlash over her speculation that U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Ind., and Huma Abedin, deputy chief of staff for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

"The concerns I have and my colleagues have are real," she told the St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press Monday. "We cannot elevate political correctness over national security."

Bachmann leveled the accusations June 13 in a letter to Deputy Inspector General of the Department of State Harold Geisel, backed by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz.; Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas; Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Florida and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga.

Abedin, a practicing Muslim, has declined to comment on the allegations; however, the New York Post reported she and her family are under police protection following unspecified threats made shortly after Bachmann's accusations.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., came to Abedin's defense, calling the letter an "unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant." Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Oho, called the accusations "pretty dangerous."