If Dr. Oz becomes Sen. Oz, his Turkish dual citizenship could present a tricky security situation for intelligence briefings, experts say.
The issue came up when the television doctor, who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania, was asked Tuesday about his dual citizenship and what he would do if he won. Mehmet Oz said he maintains his Turkish citizenship so he can care for his mother, who lives in Istanbul and has Alzheimer’s disease.
“I can love my country and love my mom,” Oz replied.
Critics on Twitter jumped on the comment to question Oz’s fitness for the office he seeks.
“He might as well announce that he’s no longer running,” tweeted former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.
But it is not entirely clear that Oz would face such a dilemma. Oz, who was born in Cleveland to Turkish parents and played football at Harvard University before becoming a successful surgeon, is qualified to serve in the Senate, the Brookings Institution’s Molly Reynolds told PolitiFact.
“The only qualifications for serving in Congress are age, being a U.S. citizen for at least nine years for the Senate, and living in the state you represent at the time of election,” Reynolds said.
He might as well announce that he’s no longer running. https://t.co/c3Vuwd26Zt
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) March 16, 2022
Although senators aren’t required to disclose dual citizenship, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2014 in advance of a presidential run. But Oz’s ties to Turkey run deep and even include military service there.
“I had the privilege, as the son of immigrant parents, to grow up American while staying deeply in touch with my Turkish roots,” Oz told SJ Magazine in a 2011 interview. “I have a great deal of family back in Turkey, I lived there for a period as a boy, and I served in the Turkish military, which is compulsory for dual citizenship.”
Members of Congress do not require traditional security clearances and are considered trustworthy by virtue of the fact that the public elected them. It could certainly present some challenges, however, if intelligence agencies needed to brief lawmakers on sensitive matters involving Turkey.
“The election of a dual citizen would raise novel security policy questions,” Steven Aftergood, the director of the Government Secrecy Project with the Federation of American Scientists, told PoliticsPA. “Currently, members of Congress are not required to hold a security clearance in order to access classified information. But the election of a person with dual citizenship might lead Congress to revise its rules in such a way as to limit the dual citizen’s access to certain types of classified information. Even if Congress did not act, executive branch agencies might unilaterally seek to withhold certain classified information from a dual citizen in Congress.”
It may not matter. Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary is set for May 17, and Oz trails hedge fund tycoon David McCormick by 9 percentage points, according to a recent Fox News poll.
