US President Barack Obama offered a warm personal tribute to Hillary Clinton's close aide Huma Abedin, who some conservative Republicans claim has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama used the occasion of a dinner celebrating Ramazan to pour praise on his "good friend" Abedin, a Muslim American, in a highly public and strong statement of presidential support.
He said Abedin, who has been at Clinton's side in the White House, the Senate, her 2008 Democratic campaign against Obama and in her globe-trotting travels at the State Department, had worked tirelessly to represent the United States. Clinton, now Obama's top diplomat, has relied on Abedin's expertise and "so have I," the president added.
"The American people owe her a debt of gratitude - because Huma is an American patriot, and an example of what we need in this country - more public servants with her sense of decency, her grace and her generosity of spirit. "So, on behalf of all Americans, we thank you so much," Obama told Abedin, at an iftar dinner marking the end of Ramazan's daily fast, in the State Dining Room of the White House. Abedin has been the target of a small group of Republican lawmakers, including former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who have alleged she is part of a Brotherhood conspiracy to influence US foreign policy.