Days after she joked with a Swiss television reporter about the prospect of running for office in Switzerland., U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann now claims that she is planning to withdraw her dual citizenship.

"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. 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 percent committed to our United States Constitution and the United States of America. 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."

Under Swiss law, Bachmann claims that she automatically received dual Swiss citizenship when she married her husband, a dual American and Swiss citizen, in 1978. But a review of law shows that there is a formal process to be granted citizenship.

The Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C., has not returned a call to the Star Tribune seeking comment on Bachmann's statement.