Controversy over Abdul El-Sayed's family ties to Muslim Brotherhood ignored, downplayed by liberal media

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 review of Grabien transcripts.

ABDUL EL-SAYED'S ALLEGED FAMILY TIES TO MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD SURFACE AFTER DENYING ANY LINK DURING NBC INTERVIEW

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 3. 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-Sayeds family had "deep ties" to the Muslim Brotherhood in a comment that was met with pushback. 

"We should really point out theres 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.

ABDUL EL-SAYED GROWS AGITATED WITH REPORTER AFTER BEING PRESSED ON FAMILY'S ALLEGED MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TIES

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 fami