Posted on 08/21/2008 5:00:24 PM PDT by LdSentinal
A prominent Philadelphia attorney and Hillary Clinton supporter filed suit this afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee. The action seeks an injunction preventing the senator from continuing his candidacy and a court order enjoining the DNC from nominating him next week, all on grounds that Sen. Obama is constitutionally ineligible to run for and hold the office of President of the United States.
Phillip Berg, the filing attorney, is a former gubernatorial and senatorial candidate, former chair of the Democratic Party in Montgomery (PA) County, former member of the Democratic State Committee, and former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania. According to Berg, he filed the suit--just days before the DNC is to hold its nominating convention in Denver--for the health of the Democratic Party.
"I filed this action at this time," Berg stated, "to avoid the obvious problems that will occur when the Republican Party raises these issues after Obama is nominated.".
Berg cited a number of unanswered questions regarding the Illinois senator's background, and in today's lawsuit maintained that Sen. Obama is not a naturalized U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls "dual loyalties" due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia.
Even if Sen. Obama can prove his U.S. citizenship, Berg stated, citing the senator's use of a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii verified as a forgery by three independent document forensic experts, the issue of "multi-citizenship with responsibilities owed to and allegiance to other countries" remains on the table.
In the lawsuit, Berg states that Sen. Obama was born in Kenya, and not in Hawaii as the senator maintains. Before giving birth, according to the lawsuit, Obama's mother traveled to Kenya with his father but was prevented from flying back to Hawaii because of the late stage of her pregnancy, "apparently a normal restriction to avoid births during a flight." As Sen. Obama's own paternal grandmother, half-brother and half-sister have also claimed, Berg maintains that Stanley Ann Dunham--Obama's mother--gave birth to little Barack in Kenya and subsequently flew to Hawaii to register the birth.
Berg cites inconsistent accounts of Sen. Obama's birth, including reports that he was born at two separate hospitals--Kapiolani Hospital and Queens Hospital--in Honolulu, as well a profound lack of birthing records for Stanley Ann Dunham, though simple "registry of birth" records for Barack Obama are available in a Hawaiian public records office.
Should Sen. Obama truly have been born in Kenya, Berg writes, the laws on the books at the time of his birth hold that U.S. citizenship may only pass to a child born overseas to a U.S. citizen parent and non-citizen parent if the former was at least 19 years of age. Sen. Obama's mother was only 18 at the time. Therefore, because U.S. citizenship could not legally be passed on to him, Obama could not be registered as a "natural born" citizen and would therefore be ineligible to seek the presidency pursuant to Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution.
Moreover, even if Sen. Obama could have somehow been deemed "natural born," that citizenship was lost in or around 1967 when he and his mother took up residency in Indonesia, where Stanley Ann Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian citizen. Berg also states that he possesses copies of Sen. Obama's registration to Fransiskus Assisi School In Jakarta, Indonesia which clearly show that he was registered under the name "Barry Soetoro" and his citizenship listed as Indonesian.
The Hawaiian birth certificate, Berg says, is a forgery. In the suit, the attorney states that the birth certificate on record is a forgery, has been identified as such by three independent document forensic experts, and actually belonged to Maya Kasandra Soetoro, Sen. Obama's half-sister.
"Voters donated money, goods and services to elect a nominee and were defrauded by Sen. Obama's lies and obfuscations," Berg stated. "If the DNC officers ... had performed one ounce of due diligence we would not find ourselves in this emergency predicament, one week away from making a person the nominee who has lost their citizenship as a child and failed to even perform the basic steps of regaining citizenship as prescribed by constitutional laws."
"It is unfair to the country," he continued, "for candidates of either party to become the nominee when there is any question of the ability to serve if elected."
Wheres the proof that he traveled to pakistan? Is there any proof that shows him going back to indonesia after he left at the age of 10?
There is nothing I’ve seen that stands out to me as a disqualifier, and the fact that people are investing so much time and now money in this matter is depressing.
There is nothing I’ve seen that stands out to me as a disqualifier, and the fact that people are investing so much time and now money in this matter is depressing.Can you say snipe hunt. Even Bill Clinton's comment about "anyone qualified" fits in with this. They want this to keep people busy for quite a while.
“If he was born in Honolulu, he’s in the clear. In order to lose his citizenship, he would have had to renounce it himself after attaining the age of 18. His parents could not have renounced it for him. And Indonesian law, such as it is, is irrelevant.”
It seems to be that if he travelled to Pakistan on an Indonesian passport he did exactly that. He was over 18 at the time.
It seems to be that if he travelled to Pakistan on an Indonesian passport he did exactly that. He was over 18 at the time.See post 240 and links.
A dual national who travels on a foreign passport does not put his citizenship in jeopardy.
bttt
At the time the Constitution was written, it meant a citizen born on American soil. However, Congress has, through legislation, made a somewhat expanded meaning to include certain people born abroad as well - when certain criteria with respect to the citizenship status of one parent or both are met. In Obama's case, though, if he was born abroad, his parents' status would not have qualified him for citizenship at birth under that legislation.
It would be interesting to see how the man who filed suit in this case will try to prove that Obama was born in Kenya, as he claims. There are unlikely to be written records to that effect available, and any potential witness still alive would probably be living in Kenya and be unlikely to be willing to go to Philadelphia to testify in the case.
The guess here is that the suit will be dismissed on some procedural ground, perhaps Berg's lack of standing to be a plaintiff.
That depends. It doesn’t of itself do so, but as a part of a pattern it can.
Just to point out that in a law suit, many arguments or assertions may be made and they do not all have to be aligned, and actually a number of them may be at odds with other. As the law suit proceeds into the discovery phase where depositions are taken and subpoenas (legal demands to appear to be questioned) are issued, as the facts then become clear — some arguments and assertions may be dropped.
Depressing.
Several comments from relatives in Kenya to the effect that Obama was born there have been reported. However, its a matter of conjecture whether any of those people would be willing to repeat them in the current circumstances. More than likely, they’ll simply cover up for him.
(2) When something is in the Constitution, changing it requires an amendment.
(3) If you find any legislation that expands "natural born" please also cite which cases and courts have applied it to the Article II requirements for Presidency.
They might be able to enjoin his name from being put on the General Election ballot
In any event, if it is demonstrated that he is ineligible for the presidency, then McCain wins by default
Speaking of relatives, it seems no one can get to his typical white grandma and ask her where the hell was he born.. She knows, but then again she would lie for him too.. She would have had his birth certificate in her hands at some point in his young life, especially when as Obama recalls when he was a kid, his grandma being afraid of black men..
You don’t understand that this suit is designed to stop his nomination, not to establish anything in a court of law.
Amen. Hillary’s not going to go down quietly.
“redneck hillbilly”
nothing wrong with that, it’s better than being called a liberal
It's difficult to believe that a bright young preppy from Hawaii would cavalierly jeopardize his US citizenship for travel convenience.
He was drinkig and drugging, by his own admission, and hanging out with a known commie.
It has nothing to do with US law. Indonesian law stated that he had to choose upon reaching 18. He could not retain Indonesian citizemship without renouncing his US citizenship.
“Amen. Hillary’s not going to go down quietly.”
And perhaps the showing of this film is to help start the Hillary “take over” at the convention? After all, one could say if Obama was dishonest during the primary perhaps he is also dishonest about his constitutional qualifications!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8t4PKGc2Fw
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.