Mike Rogers accuses Abdul El-Sayed of ‘lying’ about family’s Muslim Brotherhood ties

WASHINGTON, DC: Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee for Michigan, ramped up his attacks on Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, claiming El-Sayed lied about his family's ties to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

Rogers jumped on El-Sayed’s denial during NBC's 'Meet the Press', insisting posts from El-Sayed's half-sister suggested otherwise. The Michigan Senate race, already heated, became more personal as Rogers and his campaign used the posts to challenge the Democrat's account of his family background.

Mike Rogers cites half-sister's posts to challenge Abdul El-Sayed's denial

During the interview, moderator Kristen Welker asked El-Sayed whether he or his family had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

"Can you set the record straight about whether you or your family have any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood?"

El-Sayed replied, “No, but let's talk about this."

"No, you don't have any ties?" Welker clarified, as El-Sayed said, "No."

"And your family doesn't?" Welker added, to which El-Sayed again said, "No."

Rogers posted a response on social media, writing, "This morning, Abdul El-Sayed was asked about his family's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. And he denied it, an outright lie.”

"The truth is, Abdul and his family have surrounded themselves with some of the most heinous organizations and anti-American actors in history. He is too extreme to get anywhere near the US Senate."

Rogers’ campaign wasted no time highlighting remarks from El-Sayed's half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, a professor at the University of Chicago.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that in 2012, Abdelhadi posted on social media, "My family has long been MB," a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood. That same year, she reportedly discussed her activism in the group with her mother while she was in college in Egypt.

In July 2013, Abdelhadi posted about relatives who had been jailed for their involvement in the organization, urging others in Egypt to stay safe. These old posts have become a focus of Rogers' campaign as it challenges El-Sayed over his family background.

Michigan Senate race grows more contentious ahead of midterms

Roger’s campaign quickly seized on the apparent discrepancy and released a campaign ad attacking El-Sayed's family background.

The ad began and ended with clips from the Welker interview, with footage from other media appearances cut in between.

"The Muslim Brotherhood celebrated his win in the primary," a host who appeared to be a podcaster said.

"He said El-Sayed took money linked directly to t*******t groups, and El-Sayed couldn't deny the claim," Fox News' Greg Gutfeld said in another clip.

El-Sayed has previously faced questions over remarks about his citizenship and medical credentials, including a past statement about holding dual citizenship.

“I carry dual citizenship, and I grew up spending most of my summers in another country where I understood what it meant not to have the right to self-govern," El-Sayed told a Detroit GlobeMed conference in 2016.

El-Sayed's campaign spokeswoman, Roxie Richner, responded to reporting about the statement, calling it an error and saying, "Abdul is not a dual citizen by any verifiable metric and never has been.”