Controversy over Abdul El-Sayed's family ties to Muslim Brotherhood ignored, downplayed by liberal media
Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed denied to NBC's Kristen Welker that his family had any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. (Matthew LaVere/NBC via Getty Images)
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Several legacy news organizations have not covered allegations involving the family of Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
El-Sayed's denial of having any family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood has drawn questions after several social media posts from his half-sister suggested that members of their family, including their mother, were active in the Islamist group.
ABC and CBS had not mentioned the allegations on their morning or evening news broadcasts as of Thursday, Oct. 15, according to a Fox News Digital review of Grabien transcripts.
Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed had a tense exchange with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Llamas over allegations his family has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
The allegations were finally mentioned on CBS’ morning show on Friday, but simply to note that El-Sayed has denied claims by his Republican opponent Mike Rogers.
CNN and MS NOW have similarly not aired dedicated news reports about the allegations as of Thursday, despite several hours of daily programming per transcripts. A conservative panelist made a brief reference to the controversy on Monday's "CNN This Morning," which went without acknowledgment by host Audie Cornish. On Thursday night, CNN's Abby Phillip disputed concerns raised by another conservative guest, arguing that the allegations did not establish a connection between El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Abdul was not raised by his biological mother," Phillip said. "His parents divorced when he was three. He doesn't have that kind of relationship with her. So the idea that he would be tarred and feathered for a Muslim Brotherhood connection that frankly A. is not verified, and B., does not actually say anything about how he was raised here in Michigan."
"He said to his knowledge, he is not aware of any connections with the Muslim Brotherhood. And you know what? You can take that up with him, but the insinuation is that he is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood," she later added.
On Friday morning, conservative guest Jesse Arm told CNN viewers that El-Sayed’s family had "deep ties" to the Muslim Brotherhood in a comment that was met with pushback.
"We should really point out there’s also a lot of CNN fact checking, and specifically on the mother and brother, what he has responded to," anchor Erica Hill said. "There is so much for all candidates that is in their past and needs fact-checking."
MS NOW's most direct reference to the allegations came Monday night when guest host Jacob Soboroff knocked El-Sayed's Republican opponent for focusing on the "smears" against the Muslim Democrat, including tying El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The New York Times, widely dubbed "The Paper of Record," has not published a single report on the subject this week, according to search results on its website.
NBC was the only broadcast network identified in the review as having covered the allegations, having questioned El-Sayed directly in two interviews.
During an interview that aired on Sunday's "Meet the Press," NBC's Kristen Welker asked El-Sayed if he could "set the record straight" on allegations that he and his family had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. He firmly replied, "No," before suggesting his GOP rival was using Islamophobic attacks against him and his family.
However, according to social media posts made by his half-sister Eman Abdelhadi, members of their family, including their mother, had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect," Abdelhadi wrote in a 2012 X post, as first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed denied that he or his family had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood during an interview with "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker. (Matthew LaVere/NBC via Getty Images)
Their mother, Fatten Elkomy, had attended Egypt's Alexandria University, which, according to a report from the Brookings Institution, had strong Muslim Brotherhood activity back in the 70s.
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In another 2012 post, Abdelhadi, a professor at the University of Chicago, wrote: "My family has long been MB, but I've always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively."
In a third post from 2013, she wrote, "Praying for all my family that supports the #MB in #Egypt. Lie low, stay safe."
El-Sayed's half-sister Eman Abdelhadi repeatedly posted on X that they have members involved with the Muslim Brotherhood, including their mother. (University of Chicago)
On Wednesday's "NBC Nightly News," El-Sayed was confronted by NBC's Tom Llamas about how Abdelhadi's posts appear to contradict his own denial to Welker.
"It's funny to me," El-Sayed responded. "I was born in 1984 down the street in Rochester Hills. I was raised here in Michigan, went to the University of Michigan, rebuilt the health department in this city, led the health department in this county — and you want to ask me about what's happening in Egypt in 1970? Are you serious?"
"I get it, but you were asked a question, and you gave an answer," Llamas responded.
"I have no ties, we have no ties," El-Sayed said, reiterating his denial.
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The Democratic hopeful told Llamas he hadn't had conversations with his mother about her alleged Muslim Brotherhood activity and accused the anchor of using "hearsay evidence from a tweet."
"That's just not serious," El-Sayed said.
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"But you've also gone after the president for truthfulness and when people ask you a question, do you expect the truth?" Llamas then asked.
"Are you insinuating that somehow I was lying?" El-Sayed fired back.
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking," Llamas responded.
"And I'm telling you that I was not," El-Sayed told him.
Representatives for ABC, CBS, CNN, MS NOW and The New York Times did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.
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