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Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman and ex-chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is facing scrutiny over claims made in a recent fundraising email regarding his involvement in Osama bin Laden’s death. In the email, Rogers stated he “saw the dead body of Osama bin Laden with my own eyes,” suggesting direct participation in the 2011 raid that killed the al-Qaida leader in Pakistan.
However, Rogers was not present at bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad on May 1, 2011, nor was he in the White House Situation Room monitoring the operation. Instead, he was in Washington DC, where he received a phone call from CIA Director Leon Panetta informing him of the raid. According to reporting by former Washington Post journalist Azi Paybarah, Rogers likely was referring to viewing a photograph of bin Laden’s body, which he had access to as chair of the intelligence committee at that time.
Rogers, now running for Michigan’s open Senate seat against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, has previously made similar statements characterizing his national security background. At the time of the raid, Rogers had stated that he supported the Obama administration’s decision not to release graphic images of the operation publicly. The discrepancy between his current claims and his actual role has raised questions about the accuracy of his campaign messaging.
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Originally reported by Theguardian →
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