Yup. They're waiting for authentication. You don't post a "maybe".
You are right. You don’t post a maybe.
But, in this case, there is a story that has no “maybe,” and that is the legal request for authentication. I look for other sites to pick this up when they verify the request to the court.
I just explained why no rational person would wait for full legal authentication to call this news.
So, no I don't buy it. They are waiting for the Blogosphere to come to a consensus that this is not a fraud on the surface of it.. which can be done in less than a day. They are waiting for a 2nd Source, to say that this document physically exists and is in a specific person's possession.
Past this, it would be highly inappropriate not to report it in the terms that WND did,
"Someone has come forward with a Document that is purported to be an Offical Copy of BO's Kenyan B.C issued in February of 1964. Its authenticity is being examined, but the form is consistent with B.C.'s issued in Kenya in 1964 when this copy was issued."
This is basic reporting and it is the obligation of News organizations to cover this occurrence regardless of whether the document is genuine or a fraud. Either way it is news.