(Newser)
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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."
