Rogers Tells NBC's Kristen Welker She Is 'Giving Him a Pass' Over El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood
The Michigan Republican and the NBC moderator talked over each other on Sunday about his Democratic opponent's denials and Rogers' own 2012 remarks. Rogers also said he has never called El-Sayed a terrorist.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers pushed back hard on NBC's Kristen Welker on "Meet the Press" Sunday, Fox News reports, accusing her of defending his opponent, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.
The exchange. Welker said El-Sayed has already disavowed any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and defended her Oct. 11 interview with him, in which he answered "No" when asked if he or his family had connections to the group. Rogers said El-Sayed "dismissed the question" and told her: "I don't know why you give this guy a pass." Later he said: "What you're doing now is trying to twist this thing to defend your position for letting him lie to you."
Rogers' own record. Welker showed a 2012 quote in which Rogers said the U.S. would have to "reach out to and talk to" moderate members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Rogers said that as House Intelligence Committee chairman he was focused on keeping intelligence cooperation between Egypt and Israel intact to prevent more regional violence.
The terrorism question. Welker noted there is no evidence for President Trump's description of El-Sayed as a violent terrorist. Rogers said, "I've never called him a terrorist."
The campaign's line. Rogers spokesperson Abby Ronson said El-Sayed "deflects, gets angry and dismisses the question" and asked why his campaign will not put out a clear statement disavowing the group. She urged national outlets to ask him.
Background in Fox's report. The Washington Free Beacon reported that El-Sayed was among 46 Egyptian American figures who signed a November 2012 letter backing then-President Mohamed Morsi. Social media posts by his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, described the family's history with the Brotherhood, including a 2012 post saying her family "has long been MB." El-Sayed says he was raised by his father and stepmother and has accused Rogers of exploiting his Muslim faith. Fox said it asked El-Sayed for comment and had no response.
Note for readers: the family-history claims come from posts and a letter reported by others, and El-Sayed denies ties. We did not watch the interview and rely on Fox's account of it. We covered the earlier Rogers and El-Sayed debate exchange and Rogers' CNN interview.