WASHINGTON -- Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has requested withdrawal of her Swiss citizenship after news that she and her children had recently applied for Swiss papers caused a stir.Referring to the Swiss citizenship as an “automatic” designation conferred upon her when she married her husband, Marcus Bachmann, the son of Swiss immigrants, Bachmann said she was withdrawing the citizenship to make clear her allegiance to the U.S.“Today I sent a letter to the Swiss Consulate requesting withdrawal of my dual Swiss citizenship, which was conferred upon me by operation of Swiss law when I married my husband in 1978,” Bachmann said in a statement. “I took this action because I want to make it perfectly clear: I was born in America and I am a proud American citizen.”"I am, and always have been, 100% committed to our United States Constitution and the United States of America," the statement continued. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran, stepdaughter of an Army veteran and sister of a Navy veteran, I am proud of my allegiance to the greatest nation the world has ever known."
– If you were concerned that Michele Bachmann's Swiss citizenship meant she'd given up on America, worry no longer: She's getting rid of it. "Today I sent a letter to the Swiss Consulate requesting withdrawal of my dual Swiss citizenship, which was conferred upon me by operation of Swiss law when I married my husband in 1978," she said in a statement, according to Minnesota Public Radio. "I took this action because I want to make it perfectly clear: I was born in America and I am a proud American citizen." Bachmann hopes to put an end to the story that surfaced earlier this week. At the time, her spokeswoman described the situation this way, notes the LA Times: "Congresswoman Bachmann's husband is of Swiss descent so she has been eligible for dual citizenship since they got married in 1978. However, recently some of their children wanted to exercise their eligibility for dual citizenship so they went through the process as a family." Her opponent in November, Jim Graves of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, has called the Swiss story a "distraction." He has confirmed that he and his family are also "proud to be Americans."