The lawyer for an Alabama woman denied return to the U.S. after joining the Islamic State group in Syria says he has evidence she's a U.S. citizen.
U.S. officials contend that Hoda Muthana isn't a citizen and has no legal basis to travel to the U.S.
President Donald Trump says he decided to deny her return and that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agrees with that decision. Pompeo says Muthana isn't a citizen and doesn't have a valid passport.
Trump tweeted Wednesday afternoon:
"I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country!"
Muthana's lawyer, Hassan Shibly, released a copy of her birth certificate and a letter from a U.S. official indicating her father was no longer a diplomat when she was born in 1994. Shibly says Muthana had a valid U.S. passport before she joined the militant group in 2014.
On Thursday's "Mornings With Maria" on Fox Business, Pompeo insisted that Muthana would not be returning.
"This is a woman who inflicted enormous risk on American soldiers, on American citizens. She's a terrorist," he said. "She's not coming back. President Trump made it clear that she wasn't coming back. She's not a U.S. Citizen. She's not entitled to U.S. citizenship."
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