Cantor declined to say he thought Bachmann was 'out of line.' | AP Photos Cantor defends Bachmann

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) Friday defended Rep. Michele Bachmann’s questioning of a top Hillary Clinton aide’s loyalty to the United States, saying the Minnesota lawmaker’s “concern was about the security of the country.”

Asked by CBS host Charlie Rose whether Bachmann was “out of line,” Cantor declined to criticize the congresswoman.


“I think that if you read some of the reports that have covered the story, I think that her concern was about the security of the country. So it’s about all I know,” the House’s No. 2 Republican told CBS’s “This Morning.”

Cantor’s comments are in stark contrast to Speaker John Boehner’s swift and strong denunciations of Bachmann’s conduct.

Earlier this month, Boehner said that questioning whether Clinton aide Huma Abedin had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood was “pretty dangerous.”

“I don’t know Huma, but from everything I do know of her, she has a sterling character,” Boehner said. “And I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous.”

When asked by Rose whether there was too much intolerance and whether he was worried some of it was coming from within his own party, Cantor responded Friday that “there is equal opportunity of intolerance, unfortunately, Charlie, in this country. To me, it’s really important for us to remember that we are a country that appreciates freedom and diversity.”

“I feel very strongly about the fact that we are a nation of inclusion. We’re built on the waves of immigrants that have come to these shores. I myself am a member of a minority faith and have enjoyed the ability to pursue and practice that faith unlike I could anywhere else in the world,” Cantor added.

Last week, in more expansive comments on the broader issue of religious tolerance, Cantor told Buzzfeed that it was “absolutely wrong to stereotype or look badly at anyone because of their religion.”

Cantor was not speaking specifically about the Michele Bachmann questions, Buzzfeed notes.

“It’s a bad thing to look at a Muslim and think bad things. Again, we’re all Americans here, and we share beliefs in freedom and the ability to practice our faiths,” the majority leader said.

Abedin is a senior State Department staffer, a close confidante of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s and the wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)

Bachmann and four other Republicans recently signed letters to intelligence and national security agencies raising questions about the Muslim Brotherhood, specifically calling out Abedin and accusing her late father of having ties to the group.

Others on the right, such as former Bachmann campaign manage Ed Rollins, former GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist have slammed Bachmann for her letter.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, on the other hand, has defended Bachmann, saying, “There weren’t allegations, there was a question.”