I suspect WND was threatened by “The Matrix”, as Leo Donofrio calls it, but maybe WND’s “Where's the BC” money-raising campaign would be threatened if Smith had the real thing. WND would benefit by delaying verification of Smith's BC as long as possible if they couldn't meet his price to get if for themselves, or they could be driving down Smith's price by discrediting the document.
I am not sure the “refutations” were conclusive.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=108773
NEWS ANALYSIS
Exclusive: Jerome Corsi responds to seller of purported Kenyan document
By Jerome R. Corsi, WorldNetDaily, September 02, 2009
Arguments for eBay birth certificate fall short
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=108773