CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is taking heat from the left yet again, this time over a report urging her staff to probe Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's potential ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Semafor reported Sunday that Weiss "personally advocated for CBS News journalists to pursue numerous story angles related to El-Sayed’s supposed sympathy towards the Muslim Brotherhood."
The report cited two anonymous CBS News staffers who were aggrieved by Weiss' directive. Anonymous CBS News staffers complaining about their boss to liberal media outlets has become commonplace in the media industry.
NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham believes disgruntled CBS News employees constantly offering anonymous quotes to liberal publications in an effort to smear Weiss "helps reinforce" the longstanding bias toward the left.
"She’s making them do difficult things," Graham told Fox News Digital.
"Can we look into whether Abdul El-Sayed has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, like his family says they do? How dare you," Graham quipped. "You’re not supposed to do stories that might make Democrats look bad."
While Weiss’ defenders have suggested staffers are essentially irked that she asked them to do journalism, progressives lashed out against Weiss over the latest report.
"A rightwing, pro-Israel, anti-Muslim troll who has zero qualifications to be running national TV network is in fact running a national TV network and trying to get it to behave like a rightwing, pro-Israel, anti-Muslim troll," far-left Zeteo founder and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan reacted on X.
"No self-respecting journalist should work for Bari Weiss," The Nation correspondent Jeet Heer wrote.
"Nobody should respect or trust ANYTHING coming out of @CBSNews at this point," far-left activist Shaun King exclaimed.
Notably, CBS News largely refrained from covering the controversy that blew up last week when unearthed social media posts from his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, claimed their family, including their mother, had ties to the controversial Islamist group after he flatly denied there was any connection to NBC's Kristen Welker.
"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.
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 1970s.
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."
Graham feels that CBS News staffers who didn’t want to look into the El-Sayed story must find it "wildly offensive" to even consider a conservative point of view.
"They object [to] the idea that they have to be somehow a little bit fair and balanced," Graham said.
As for El-Sayed, he recently doubled down on his denial during a contentious exchange with NBC's Tom Llamas.
"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.
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.
"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.
In an interview on MS NOW, El-Sayed likened the questions about his family allegiances to ones John F. Kennedy faced as a Catholic while running for president in 1960.
During an interview with ABC News released on Monday, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed responded to a question on why he believes it’s so ridiculous to ask him if he believes Iran is a bigger threat than Israel
During an interview with ABC News released on Monday, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed responded to a question on whether he will condemn Iran’s current regime by stating that “this idea of like, condemn or not condemn” is
Republicans made their pitch to Michigan voters at a Fox News town hall Monday night, with GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers arguing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is vulnerable among Black and Jewish voters as one of the nation's most closely watched Senate races enters its final two weeks.
Fox News host Sean Hannity also spoke with Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. John James and House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., as the candidates sought to tie Michigan Democrats to government spending, socialism and the party's progressive wing ahead of Nov. 3.
Early on in the night, Rogers argued that his opponent, El-Sayed, could underperform among a handful of key demographics that traditionally support Democratic candidates, presenting political opportunities for Republicans.
Casting doubt on El-Sayed's grip on Black voters in Michigan
Hannity pressed Rogers about El-Sayed's past criticism of former President Barack Obama, whom El-Sayed described as "not the right choice" to advance a progressive agenda following Obama's 2012 re-election.
"He is dismissive in Detroit. We have just dozens of black pastors that we have talked to, neighborhood leaders in the city of Detroit that we’ve talked to. They’re looking for a change," Rogers said.
Notably, Obama is scheduled to campaign with El-Sayed in Detroit on Oct. 24 and has released a video urging voters to support the Democratic nominee.
Unique opportunity for Republicans amid alienated Jewish voters
Rogers argued the Jewish community could present a unique opportunity for Republicans amid El-Sayed's criticism of Israel.
Recently, El-Sayed declined to answer whether he viewed Iran or Israel as a greater threat.
"I think both of them have proven dangerous in their own way. One, at risk of attacking us. One, getting us into wars we have no business fighting," El-Sayed said in a recent debate.
Rogers noted that if only half of Jewish Democratic voters in Michigan felt alienated by El-Sayed’s remarks enough to support his campaign, it would provide a significant boost.
"There are about 70,000 Jewish Democrats. If we get half of them to vote for us, which we think — we had an event last night. Had over 1,000 people at it. We’re fired up and excited and scared for their children, by the way. They’re afraid for their children. They’re with us, and they’re going to vote, we think, 35,000 votes out of the Jewish Democrat — these are normally solid Democratic votes."
"That’s changing the dynamic," Rogers added.
Gubernatorial hopeful promises to target fraud, trim fat on Democrat-led spending
Rep. John James, R-Mich., the state’s Republican candidate for governor, also appeared with Hannity, presenting his pitch to attendees on what he would do differently if elected.
Alongside promises to reshape education, James promised to create more scrutiny around government programs and expenses.
"Michigan is spending 50% more right now under Gretchen Whitmer than we spent under Rick Snyder’s administration, the last Republican, and $20 billion more per year than at the height of the pandemic."
"Michigan does not have a taxation problem. Michigan has a spending problem," James added.
Snyder left office in 2019.
James also raised concerns about potential fraud in Michigan, drawing comparisons to Minnesota's sprawling taxpayer-funded fraud investigations.
"If a 19-year-old journalist named Nick Shirley can find $9 billion of fraud in Minnesota, a state with 50% of our population and 60% of our budget, what do you think he can find here?" James said, referring to a videographer who had become famous for investigating Somali fraud rings.
Shirley drew national attention to suspected fraud involving Minnesota childcare providers, although he did not uncover $9 billion in fraud. That figure came from former federal prosecutor Joe Thompson, who estimated last year that fraud across 14 high-risk Medicaid programs could total $9 billion or more. Minnesota officials have disputed the estimate. Federal and state investigators in Minnesota have uncovered fraud involving taxpayer-funded childcare, food assistance and healthcare programs, including schemes in which defendants allegedly billed the government for services they never provided.
Top House Republican accuses Democrats of concealing 'Communist' agenda
Monday on ABC’s “The View,” co-host Sunny Hostin said President Donald Trump’s remarks calling Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist is Islamophobic and despicable. Hostin said, “I loved that comparison because when John F. Kennedy was asked,
Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers took aim at Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed during a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday, warning voters that his rival's policies would hurt the state.
Rogers accused El-Sayed of having a "pattern of deception" and called him a "manufactured candidate," claiming the Democrat has misrepresented his political positions.
"He is the most extreme candidate. He has called for defunding the police. He has called for letting criminals out of prison," Rogers said.
"He has called for the Green New Deal, which for Michigan is a killer."
Rogers also touted his campaign's ground operation, saying volunteers are approaching 6 million doors knocked across Michigan.
"That's the energy, and what we're getting off of those doors is, 'Yes, we're voting,' 'No, we're not going to be a DSA state,' 'No, we're not going to let this happen on our watch.'"
The Republican also said his campaign is seeing support from voters who traditionally back Democrats.
Rogers later took questions from voters, including a Jewish woman who said she sometimes feels afraid to show her Jewish identity in public.
Rogers said he had heard similar stories from Jewish students at the University of Michigan who said they concealed religious symbols because they were being harassed.
Rogers also pointed to housing, education and skilled trades, saying he wants to make it easier for young adults to buy homes and bring more defense industry work to the state.
He also called for putting shop classes back in Michigan high schools, arguing that expanding skilled-trade education would give students more paths to well-paying careers.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed brought up a Midwestern college rivalry in an attack against Vice President Vance. During a recent town hall on CBS News, Vance said that he had seen “what Abdul El-Sayed says about the war in Iran.” “I see he — criticizing decisions that the president has made, the military’s…
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed brought up a Midwestern college rivalry in an attack against Vice President Vance. During a recent town hall on CBS News, Vance said that he had seen “what Abdul El-Sayed says about the war in Iran.” “I see he — criticizing decisions that the president has made, the military’s…
Michigan Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed questioned why anyone would want to live in Flint, Michigan, during a 2016 appearance before a largely white Boston University audience, according to a report.
"The View" co-hosts defended Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over his comparison of questions about his family's alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood to scrutiny former President John F. Kennedy faced over his Catholic faith.
El-Sayed made the comparison during an "MS NOW Reports" interview on Saturday, likening questions about his family's alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood to scrutiny Kennedy faced over his Catholic faith.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg highlighted an incident at a recent town hall when El-Sayed was asked whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed did so, but objected to the question, saying the audience member was "implicitly assuming that I’ll have dual loyalties."
"I liked what he said. He compared the question he received to John F. Kennedy's question because John F. Kennedy, as you know, was a Catholic, and in the days he was running that was a huge deal and people wanted to know ‘Are you going to listen to the Pope? Are you going to listen to the people?’" Goldberg said.
"Yeah, because he was the first Catholic president," co-host Sunny Hostin agreed. "And I loved that comparison because, when John F. Kennedy was asked, he said, ‘I am not running to be a Catholic president, I'm running to be president who happens to be Catholic.’ And candidate El-Sayed said the same thing. ‘I am running to be a senator who happens to be Muslim.’"
"I think he does politics extremely well," she continued. "And there has been these constant Islamophobic — these Islamophobic comments around his candidacy. Trump called him a jihadist. I mean, this is just, I think it's out of line. I think it's out of pocket for our country to be a country where all religions aren't welcome. I think that it's really despicable the way he's been treated."
Concerns about El-Sayed's family's alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood emerged after social media posts uncovered by the Washington Free Beacon showed El-Sayed's half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, described her family's history with the organization.
In one 2012 post, Abdelhadi described a conversation with her and El-Sayed's mother, Fatten Elkomy, about her involvement with the organization during college in Egypt, saying, "Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect."
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin noted how quickly El-Sayed disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood, but said she was still troubled by his response to an antisemitic terror attack in Michigan, arguing that such concerns cannot be disregarded as "Islamophobic." She also pointed to his past campaigning with far-left streamer Hasan Piker.
Fellow co-host Sara Haines argued, "The comparison to JFK isn't quite an equitable comparison, because when you question his loyalty based on his Catholicism, that's different than asking a question about reported ties to a terrorist organization."
She added that while the reported ties involved El-Sayed's family, not El-Sayed himself, the fact that people were framing concern about the Muslim Brotherhood as Islamophobia was making the entire conversation worse.
Co-host Ana Navarro argued that concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood were overblown.
"The Muslim Brotherhood is practically defunct in Egypt. That's like asking him to denounce bell-bottoms," she said.
"To me, this is a binary choice. Do I want somebody that's going to push back on Trump or do I want someone that's gonna rubber-stamp Trump?" Navarro asked. "Well, I want something that's going to demand accountability, that is going to demand oversight, and that's to pushback on the abuses of power that are going on in this country by this administration right now."
Human rights attorney Brooke Goldstein, executive director of The Lawfare Project and founder of the #EndJewHatred movement, spoke to Fox News Digital about the segment and criticized Navarro for downplaying the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Nobody asked El-Sayed about his faith," Goldstein said. "He was asked about the Muslim Brotherhood, whose Egyptian and Jordanian chapters were designated as foreign terrorist entities by the Treasury Department this year for materially supporting Hamas, and whose Lebanese chapter was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. Hamas even describes itself as the Brotherhood’s wing — and clearly neither the Brotherhood nor Hamas is 'defunct.'"
"The question El-Sayed deflected — the comparison to Kennedy is inapt because Kennedy actually did answer the question, to a room full of Protestant ministers — is about national security concerns, not religious ones," she continued. "The Kennedy comparison is nothing more than a deflection from unanswered questions about a designated terrorist organization."
"The co-hosts of ‘The View’ are missing the point," Goldstein added. "JFK faced religious prejudice. Questions about Abdul El-Sayed’s alleged family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood raise a different concern: where does a candidate’s loyalty lie, with the United States and its constitutional values, or with a foreign terrorist organization?"
"The evidence cited to raise these concerns is compelling enough to warrant serious scrutiny and direct answers," she said. "Voters have every right to demand transparency when potential connections to Islamist movements are questioned. National security is not bigotry, and invoking discrimination should not end legitimate debate."
"Anytime there’s serious questions into somebody’s affiliation with a terrorist group, they claim religious prejudice," Goldstein continued. "Asking somebody about their ties to a terrorist organization is anti-Islam, what then, is pro-Islam?"
"Meanwhile, DSA candidates are advancing an anti-Western ideological agenda that deserves far more scrutiny. Their radical socialist policies and hostility toward traditional American values risk weakening the institutions and freedoms that made this country exceptional," she said.
Goldstein cited rioting in France as an example of what can happen if such issues aren't taken seriously.
"France is a warning of what can happen when progressive ideology, failed integration policies, and inadequate responses to Islamist extremism collide," she said. "America must not follow that path by handing power to DSA radicals who put ideology ahead of national interests."
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