Michigan Senate Candidate Mike Rogers Claims to Have Seen Osama bin Laden's Body

<figure><img alt="mike rogers donald trump michigan" src="https://thedailybeast-thedailybeast-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/resizer/v2/KR2YQBJGW5H7JCP5LGKAHKYP7Y.JPG?auth=f6402c4d51d42678ac0462415b0c9b134eb501936ad54c2d377d54a16e27ac83&amp;smart=true&amp;width=1753&amp;height=986" /><figcaption>Evan Vucci / REUTERS</figcaption></figure><p>Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers stated in a fundraising email that he personally saw Osama bin Laden’s dead body following the SEAL Team Six raid in Pakistan. This claim is notable as Rogers was serving in Congress at the time of bin Laden's death in 2011.</p><p>In the email, Rogers emphasized his background as a U.S. Army officer and FBI special agent, asserting, “I saw the dead body of Osama bin Laden with my own eyes, knowing that together, we had delivered justice for America.”</p><p>However, Rogers was not in Pakistan during the raid; he was in Washington, D.C., serving his sixth term representing Michigan’s 8th congressional district and chairing the House Intelligence Committee. He learned of bin Laden’s death through a phone call from CIA Director Leon Panetta.</p><p>A report from Roll Call in 2011 indicated that Rogers was among lawmakers who viewed photos of bin Laden’s body after the raid, which he described as “pretty gruesome.”</p><p>The Guardian reported that Rogers has often highlighted his role on the intelligence committee as significant in securing funding for U.S. intelligence agencies that contributed to bin Laden’s death, but he has been accused of exaggerating his involvement.</p><p>Rogers’ campaign did not respond to requests for comment regarding his claims.</p><p>Recent polling indicates that Rogers is in a competitive race against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, with El-Sayed leading by approximately two percentage points according to a 270 TO WIN average of recent polls.</p><p>Rogers has attempted to portray El-Sayed, who is Muslim, as sympathetic to terrorism. He stated, “Abdul doesn’t represent a vision for the future. He’s leading a movement grounded in ideological fanaticism,” following El-Sayed’s victory in the Democratic primary.</p><p>Rogers further claimed, “I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11.” However, this assertion has been fact-checked and found to be inaccurate, as El-Sayed has condemned the September 11 attacks and expressed his devastation over the events.</p><p>El-Sayed wrote in a 2021 column, “I watched terrorists with names like mine attack my country in the name of my faith. Three thousand of my fellow Americans were killed in the craven terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. The attack devastated me.”</p>