Posted on 11/30/2010 11:42:20 PM PST by rxsid
"Lakin not allowed witnesses, documents, explanation at court-martial Dec. 14!
Lakin Family Attempts to Avoid Confrontation Ignored by Obama
Letters obtained by The Gazette reveal the extent to which a decorated Army officer and his brother struggled to resolve concerns over the President’s eligibility prior to the officer being court-martialed.
The Lakins are long-time Greeley residents. Three Lakin brothers; Dr. Greg Lakin, Capt. Gary Lakin USCG and Lt. Col. Terrance Lakin graduated from University High School in 1977, 1980 and 1983 respectively. The brothers' parents still live in Greeley and have a long history of supporting humanitarian causes in the area.
Lt. Col. Lakin is currently scheduled to be court-martialed Dec. 14 for disobeying orders to deploy after exhausting numerous attempts to resolve issues regarding the President’s eligibility to be Commander-in-Chief. The specific issue involved is the Constitutional requirement that the President be a natural born citizen.
Dr. Greg Lakin has previously been a member of the Greeley Police Department and was a prosecutor in Hawaii. Greg, who was interviewed on the Peter Boyles radio show on Nov. 9, said Lakin, “mulled over this for a long period of time” before he made his decision to refuse to deploy to Afghanistan. He strongly disputed the contention that his brother was a coward for deploying, noting Terry had already served in both Bosnia and Afghanistan.
...
In an interview with the Gazette, Dr. Lakin shared copies of letters he and his brother sent to the President and Hawaiian Governor Linda Lingle asking for a resolution of this issue. Greg said the letters were written with a very humble spirit in an attempt to seek information verifying Barack Obama’s birthplace.
...
Lt. Col. Lakin sent a letter to the President prior to being charged saying, as part of the deployment orders, he was required to submit his long form birth certificate and he was “glad to obey this order, and will provide a certified copy of my original birth certificate with common, standard identifiers, including the name of an attending physician and a hospital.” He said he “attempted through my chain of command for many months to get answers to the relentless questions surrounding your eligibility, but was informed that I lack standing. I also sought answers, unsuccessfully, through my Congressional delegation.” He went on to explain the reason for his request had nothing to do with personal differences. “Please assure the American people that you are indeed constitutionally eligible to serve as Commander-in-Chief and thereby may lawfully direct service members into harm's way. I will be proud to deploy to Afghanistan to further serve my country and my fellow soldiers, but want to do so with the knowledge and peace of mind that this important provision of our Constitution is respected and obeyed.”
Dr. Lakin, in his first letter to the president prior to his brother’s arraignment, implored Obama to put the matter to rest stressing his brother tried to resolve the matter through proper channels but was rebuffed. “Approximately 20 months ago while continuing to serve in the Army he attempted to seek clarification regarding your birth certificate through proper military channels. Lt. Col. Lakin filed his requests through the normal chain of command (as the military advised) but continued to meet with frustration as the Army was unable to provide any clarification with regard to your place of birth. He believes this raises a Constitutional issue, a Constitution which he has sworn to uphold.” He stresses that his brother would gladly deploy in an instant once his questions have been answered, saying Terry “remains ready and willing to continue to serve his country in areas of conflict - as he has done in Afghanistan and Bosnia. I believe that upon meeting with my idealistic and principled brother you would find him professional, compassionate and worth helping.” Dr. Lakin even suggested a way to defuse the situation saying that “a meeting with him or our family, whether you chose to do this in private or public setting, would likely defuse this matter.”
He also sent a letter to Hawaiian Governor Linda Lingle who he met several times while he was a prosecuting attorney in Maui County. He told her that “a short meeting or phone with him or family (whether done privately or publicly - your choice), would completely defuse this matter.”
...
Dr. Lakin sent another letter to the President after the initial court-martial date was set. In the letter Greg told the president he was a supporter who was pleased to see him elected in 2008. He reiterated that Terry made this decision only after other options had been exhausted. “It is a shame that no one above him in the military ranks and no one in Congress, who represents him, could address his concerns so that he could have avoided the prospect of such an enormous penalty for staying faithful to the oath he swore as an officer.” He went on to say that Col. Lakin was far from alone in his concerns saying, “Many others in uniform share this concern and have conveyed their support to my brother.”
Showing he understands the divisiveness the issue has caused, he told the President, “We should use all means necessary to avoid an escalated controversy this fall when his court-martial is scheduled. There is much strife and tension in this nation now and this would not be healthy or productive.” Emphasizing the desire to find a resolution of the eligibility issue once and for all so the matter could be put to rest, Lakin said, “My family stands ready to provide any further information you might need and to offer our assistance to try to broker any compromise or negotiation that might be acceptable to all parties. We are deeply distressed over this situation, and do not believe that Terry deserves to be imprisoned simply for seeking assurances that he is following legal orders.”
Greg stated that he has not received any response to his letters and is concerned the Army will simply take the easy way out by avoiding the issue and simply lock up his brother. He said based on his experience as a prosecutor in situations like this where there is no case law, “Judges go in with a pre-determined idea how they are going to decide it and take case law and policy statements to say whatever they want. There is no magic law that supports either position.”
Greg said if his brother is not allowed to present evidence on his behalf and is convicted he would be forced to leave his practice to advocate for his brother saying, “My reluctant but determined response would be to forego my busy medical practice treating drug addicts and elderly patients to organize a public outcry for America’s new military political prisoner.”
As the issue drags on, more members of the media appear to be mentioning the issue. Conan O’Brien joked about the President being ineligible in one of his monologues. Rush Limbaugh, who has previously made comments regarding Obama’s birth certificate, said last week, “We have an imposter for all intents and purposes serving in the White House.”
Saturday Night Live has also mentioned the issue with an opening skit having Sen. Harry Reid asking the President to produce his birth certificate. ABC News Jake Tapper questioned White House Security Advisor David Axelrod’s statement that the President has released his birth certificate asking specifically about the long form containing the name and signature of the attending physician."
From: http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=6890
Wikipedia scrubs article on eligibility challenge
Best read post #19.
Oh, really? Which court cases did he cite for that, huh? You should take that letter down to a friendly journalist or tv reporter and let them have at it. If nothing else write letters to the editor for as many newspapers in this idiot's area as you possibly can. The more that gets out there, he might be shown the door next election.
I didn't know his brother was an attorney in Hawaii. He might know something Hussein doesn't want let out of the bag.... of course, other than the blatant evidence of a papa from Kenya.
I don’t believe that LTC Lakin is being represented by his brother. His civilian legal counsel will not present a defense that has anything to do with Obama or his eligibility. The Military Judge has ruled against that and Lakin’s civilian counsel has said that he agrees with her decision and believes it to be correct as a matter of law and of fact.
LTC Lakin’s brother may be a part of the problem.
“GOD” Bless Lt. Col. Terry Lakin!!!
He had an outstand record as a Military Officer.
He felt it was his duty to question orders because he took an oath to Protect & Defend his Country.
Mr Obama also took this oath “KNOWING that He was NOT ELIGIBLE” to be POTUS because “His Legal Father” was not an American Citizen as required by our Conistitution.
Mr Obama is a “DISGRACE” to our Country!!
He needs to be removed from the White House immediately!!!
Don’t.
We need you in safer saner roles as long as possible.
outrageous? This would be true if we were still a Constitutional Republic. When obama seized power in 2008 , we became a socialist nation. A Constitutional Republic is based on laws . There is a 95% chance that obama was born in Kenya, even if he was born in Hawaii(5%) he is ineligible to be the President of the United States. The Constitutional Republic we called America ended when obama took the office with massive liberal and foreign money.
AMERICA
July 1776-Jan 2008
MAY SHE REST IN PEACE
That's not entirely true. He's not allowed witnesses relating to Obama and his eligibility but Lakin is allowed to call witnesses relevant to the charges he's facing. If he doesn't have any of those then that's pretty much an admission of guilt.
>>No, Mr. Larkin made himself expendable. The trial will consist of 2 questions: #1: Were you ordered to deploy with your unit? Answer is Yes #2: Did you deploy as ordered? Answer is No Then he is guilty of missing movement and failure to obey orders. Period. Find someone who is really being wronged to put up on a pedestal.<<
How can you post such BS and yet post this tagline? The House has oversight of the Judiciary...why are the rogue judges not being impeached?)
You, a puny civilian, a voter, a taxpayer, a citizen, are questioning authority yet you demand Lt. Col. Lakin, an honorable soldier, a voter, a taxpayer, a citizen, shall not have that right.
You don't like hate anything that doesn't walk in step with the majority or steps out of line to make his own path. Those are usually the characteristic of a coward or an institutionalist who is afraid to question authority himself.
You obviously do agree with Dr. Kissinger, who said, "Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy".
I think you need to do some deep thinking and some soul searching in these times of uncertainty.
According to the article Lakin has a brother in the Coast Guard who is an O-6? And yet there is nothing the article to indicate that he’s supporting his brother in this. Interesting...
Deep down in the negatives. Almost out of hearing.
Apparently.
This event makes me ashamed of the Army.
Amendment 6 says
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to [...] be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
While I realize that the argument could be made that this is a court martial, it is admission by this court that either a) violations of the UCMJ are NOT CRIMINAL, OR b) the high-ranking have no loyalty to the Constitution.
Neither is good.
What in the Sam Hell is going on in the Pentagon?
Quite possibly it is like Hackworth described; the higher-ups are not concerned with "doing their job" but with politics*, which is why he referred to them as "perfumed princes."
*This has become so pervasive that I am sure you won't have to travel very far to find claims that politics is the job of the high ranking.
... and there’s nothing to indicate that he’s NOT supporting his brother either. Non-sequitur indeed.
More appropriate question:
“Did you receive a lawful order to deploy with your unit?”
Ans: No, The order I received reasonably appeared to lack authority and as an officer sworn to defend the Constitution it was my duty to seek higher confirmation. Despite repeated requests, no officer in my chain of command was able to confirm the lawfulness of the order.
Find someone who is really being wronged to put up on a pedestal.
The issue fundamentally involves whether individuals are capable of effectively governing themselves.
The entire population of the nation has been wronged by the failure of Congress to properly certify the president-elect during its January 2009 Joint Session, a point lost in the “standing” decisions.
The damage has nothing to do with Obama’s political views and the victims include Obama supporters.
LTC Lakin may or may not be the perfect plaintiff, but he has displayed far more courage than those who had, or to date, have the authority to do something about the issue.
Many on FR respect him as a leader and support him; that is quite different than, as you charge, putting him on a pedestal.
>>”Mr.Lakin has been chosen as expendable sacrifice by his superiors.”
>No, Mr. Larkin made himself expendable. The trial will consist of 2 questions: #1: Were you ordered to deploy with your unit? Answer is Yes #2: Did you deploy as ordered? Answer is No. Then he is guilty of missing movement and failure to obey orders. Period.
Do you even understand the nature of authority? If all military authority for orders originate with the commander-in-chief, and the person claiming to be commander-in-chief is not legitimate, then all subordinate orders are invalid.
>Find someone who is really being wronged to put up on a pedestal.
ANYONE who owned GM bonds.
Bonus recipients of the bailout-funds.
Anyone who PAID for the bailout funds.
To use your words, the brother certainly may be part of the "problem".
As a former prosecutor in Hawaii he may have relevant insights as to the birth documentation practises employed by that state, and particularly with reference to specific instances.
One could also expect he has had an ongoing flow of information from friends and prior colleagues.
This is going to the Supreme Court.
Due process is a real issue in this case.
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