Another senator dishes out Obama background story

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet

Members of Congress continue to misinform constituents who write with concerns about Barack Obama's eligibility for office, making claims that various agencies of government have examined and validated his birth certificate.

The latest such claims come from the office of Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who said in an email to a constituent that Obama's status as a "'natural born' citizen of America" had been "verified" by not only federal agencies but also "primary source documentation."

The claims by Bennet were highlighted by columnist Lawrence Sellin, a Ph.D. and retired U.S. Army colonel, at Canada Free Press.

"Make no mistake about it. Congress has chosen cowardice and political expediency over honesty and the rule of law," Sellin said. "Congress knows that Barack Hussein Obama is ineligible for the presidency according to the natural born citizen clause of the Constitution."

Get the New York Times best-seller "Where's the Birth Certificate? The Case that Barack Obama Is Not Eligible to be President," autographed by Jerome Corsi, Ph.D.

He said Congress also is aware of evidence of criminal activity to warrant an investigation but will do nothing but continue to cover up.

"Need an example of their subterfuge?" Sellin asked. "All you need to do is write a letter to any member of Congress questioning Obama's eligibility or asking why his alleged felonies have not been investigated."

He then cited Bennet.

"This week's willful ignorance award goes to the ever-arrogant Senator Michael (D-CO) from an email dated June 13, 2011:

"As a senator representing Colorado, I want to speak very clearly on this issue. President Barack Obama is a 'natural born' citizen of America, and he is eligible to be our nation's Commander in Chief.

"The legality of his birth certificate has been verified by numerous federal agencies, third party investigative groups, national media outlets, and primary source documentation. The United States Department of State and the Hawaii Department of Health have both verified the legality of the 'Certification of Birth' document provided by President Obama. In addition, highly regarded 'fact check' websites such as factcheck.org, snopes.com, and politifact.com support the findings of the federal agencies through their own independent investigations."

The statement apparently reflects responses that have been coordinated for members of Congress.

WND reported earlier how Jerry W. Mansfield, an information research specialist in the Knowledge Services Group of the Congressional Research Service, issued a memo to prepare members of Congress to rebut and defuse questions constituents were asking regarding Obama's presidential eligibility under the "natural born citizen" requirement of the Constitution.

WND has posted the CRS memo on Scribd.com for download.

Attached to the memo was an attack piece published by FactCheck.org to dismiss claims that Obama's short-form Certification of Live Birth, originally published during the 2008 presidential campaign by DailyKos.com, was a forgery.

But Sellin wrote that there's more to the story than adopting the positions of left-leaning websites and unspecified "national media outlets."

"It is a shame that Bennet knows so little about the Constitution or the difference between 'citizen' and 'natural born citizen,'" he said.

"There has never been any vetting or investigations of Obama's eligibility by federal agencies. None of the third parties mentioned by Bennet are objective and non-partisan. It's a sham," he said.

In fact, when Obama released an image of a Hawaiian "Certificate of Live Birth" on April 27, after years of stating that the document was not available, the Hawaii's Department of Health and governor's office refused to confirm for WND that what was released was an accurate representation of the state's records.

Bennet's office declined to respond to a WND request for comment.

Sellin wrote, "In fact, there is far more evidence from independent third parties demonstrating that Obama's Certificate of Live Birth, which he presented as his own during the April 27, 2011, press conference, is a forgery."

He said "Honorable Mention" in the "willful ignorance" competition in Congress goes to Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

Franks cited, among other things, "corroborating birth announcements in the Hawaiian newspapers at the time of his birth."

"Newspaper clippings as evidence to be president? Seriously?" Sellin wondered.

And Cole's response, "quite literally, a 'no-brainer.'"

"Either Cole doesn't have a brain or he thinks his constituents don't," Sellin wrote. He said Cole's explanation was that the Supreme Court in 2008 declined to hear a case questioning Obama's eligibility.

"Cole doesn't seem to grasp the difference between a case being heard and dismissed, and a case not being heard and dismissed. There has yet to be an adjudication on the law and the facts concerning Obama's credentials."

WND previously has reported statements from members of Congress that are based on arguments presented in the material provided by CRS.

Among the statements from members of Congress that have appeared:

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.: "Thank you for your recent e-mail. Senator Obama meets the constitutional requirements for presidential office. Rumors pertaining to his citizenship status have been circulating on the Internet, and this information has been debunked by Snopes.com, which investigates the truth behind Internet rumors."
Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.: "Presidential candidates are vetted by voters at least twice – first in the
primary elections and again in the general election. President-Elect Obama
won the Democratic Party's nomination after one of the most fiercely
contested presidential primaries in American history. And, he has now been
duly elected by the majority of voters in the United States. Throughout both
the primary and general election, concerns about Mr. Obama's birthplace were
raised. The voters have made clear their view that Mr. Obama meets the
qualifications to hold the office of president."
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio: "President Obama has provided several news organizations with a copy of his
birth certificate, showing he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4,
1961. Hawaii became a state in 1959, and all individuals born in Hawaii
after its admission are considered natural-born United States citizens. In
addition, the Hawaii State Health Department recently issued a public
statement verifying the authenticity of President Obama's birth certificate."
U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla.: "The claim that Barack Obama is not a citizen of the U.S. is false. This rumor is simply election year politics." She referred questioners to Snopes for documentation.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.: "The courts have held that President Obama is a natural-born American citizen. Moreover, in December 2008, the Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit challenging Mr. Obama's eligibility to serve as president, concurring with three other federal courts in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Washington. The courts have confirmed the determination of state officials in Hawaii that health department records prove that Barack Obama was born a U.S. citizen in Honolulu."
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.: "President Obama demonstrated his citizenship during his campaign by circulating copies of his birth certificate, which showed he was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961."
Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa.: "I am
confident that Mr. Obama meets all the constitutional requirements to be our 44th
president. Mr. Obama has posted a copy of his birth certificate on his campaign
website and submitted an additional copy to the independent website
FactCheck.org. The birth certificate demonstrates that he was born in Honolulu,
Hawaii in 1961, thereby making him a natural-born citizen eligible to be
president."
U.S. Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif.: "As you know, some questions were raised about whether President Obama is a
natural born citizen. There was a recent lawsuit arguing that he is not
eligible for the Presidency for this reason. I understand that the Supreme
Court considered hearing this lawsuit, but it ultimately turned down the
request to have the case considered before the full court. I further
understand that the director of Hawaii's Department of Health recently
confirmed that President Obama was born in Honolulu and has personally
verified that her agency has his original birth certificate on record. As
you know, the U.S. Congress certified his election on January 8, and he was
sworn into office on January 20, 2009. While I may disagree with President Obama on a multitude of issues, he has
been elected as President of the United States through a fair process and
has shown sufficient documentation, via a state birth certificate, that has
been verified as being authentic. In short, therefore, I do not believe
sufficient evidence was brought to light to conclude that President Obama
was ineligible for the office."
U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H.: "President Obama publicly posted his
birth certificate on his campaign website which confirms that he was born in
Hawaii in 1961. This birth certificate confirms that President Obama is a
natural born citizen of the United States, above the age of 35, and is
therefore qualified to be President of the United States of America. If you
would like to view President Obama's birth certificate, I encourage you to
go to the website http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate."
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, "The Constitution and federal law require that, among other things, only
native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents who
were both American citizens) may be President of the United States. In
President Obama's case, some individuals have filed lawsuits in state and
federal courts alleging that he has not proven that he is an American
citizen, but each of those lawsuits have been dismissed. This includes a
recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to not review an
"application for emergency stay" filed by a New Jersey resident claiming
that the President is not a natural born citizen because his father was born
in Kenya. Furthermore, both the Director of Hawaii's Department of Health
and the state's Registrar of Vital Statistics recently confirmed that Mr.
Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961 and, as such, meets the
constitutional citizenship requirements for the presidency. If contrary
documentation is produced and verified, this matter will necessarily be
resolved by the judicial branch of our government under the Constitution."
Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.: "On June 13, 2008, the Obama campaign released a copy of his birth
certificate after numerous claims were made about his eligibility to hold the office of
President. The released copy created additional questions, because it
contained a blacked out department file number and was apparently missing a seal,
and it was impossible to detect raised text, a common characteristic of
official documents. There were satisfactory answers to such questions, however: the
department file number had been blacked out to prevent hackers from breaking
into the Health Department's system, and the State places the seal on the
back of the certificate. The website Factcheck.org investigated the matter and
provided high-resolution photos taken at multiple angles that revealed the
raised text and the seal on the back of the document. ... Accordingly, it
has been concluded that President Obama has met the constitutional
qualifications to be President of the United States."

U.S. Rep Vic Snyder, D-Ark.: "According to State of Hawai'i officials, the Hawai'i State Department of Health has President-elect Obama's original birth certificate on record in accordance with that state's policies and procedures.