California challenge to Senator Barack Obama’s citizenship - Court filings

11/15/2008 Insependent View

A new challenge to Senator Barack Obama’s citizenship was filed November 12th in California demanding that the court stop certification of the election results until the state’s secretary of state can ascertain from Senator Obama his legal qualification to be a candidate for President. This 18 page petition is a quick read. It offers a good summary of what is at stake and the questions that surround Senator Obama’s citizenship.

A few points:

Petitioners Ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes, Dr. Wiley S. Drake, Sr., and Markham Robinson, establish their standing to file the petition as members of the American Independent Party, for which Drs. Keyes and Drake were presidential and vice-presidential candidates on California’s ballot, respectfully. (This is a technical point that doomed some other lawsuits.)

Petitioners note that Senator Obama has not provided proof of his citizenship eligibility despite repeated requests during the primary and general election campaigns.

Petitioners note that action in at least 10 states is underway challenging Senator Obama’s eligibility.

Petitioners note that the 2007 birth certificate offered by Senator Obama is of questionable credibility for several reasons, including that it is a copy of suspect authenticity and that it does not detail actual birth location.

Petitioners note that the only person claiming witness to Senator Obama’s birth is his own paternal grandmother who claims he was actually born in Kenya, then the British East African Protectorate of Zanzibar. Other records and recollections of family members suggest either Queens Hospital or Kapiolani Hospital in Hawaii. The disclosed Registry of Live Birth is a short-form of the birth certificate that does not state whether Obama was born in Hawaii or that his birth was subsequently registered there within the year following birth as then allowed by state law.

Petitioners note that around 1967, Senator Obama moved to Indonesia with his mother and new stepfather. Records indicate that once in Indonesia he adopted his stepfather’s name and citizenship. Since dual citizenship was not allowed by Indonesian law, and U.S. law and treaty obligations required respect of this, Mrs. Obama-Soetoro had to relinquish her minor son’s U.S. citizenship. Elsewhere, they note that if he later recovered it, and no records apparently substantiate this, it would by law be as a “naturalized” citizen, not a “natural born” and, thus, ineligible for the office of President under the Constitution.

Petitioners also note that in 1961 what is now known as Kenya was then the British Protectorate of Zanzibar which, if he was born there as his paternal grandmother claims, he would be a British citizen based on his father’s citizenship.

Petitioners also note that in 1981 Senator Obama traveled to Pakistan, which was then banned by the U.S. Since he could not legally travel with a U.S. passport, they question whether he used one of his other passports: Indonesian, Kenyan, or British. (Interesting point is that the petitioners state affirmatively that he had other passports.)I am curious to see how this case fares in the courts. The question of Senator Obama’s citizenship and constitutional eligibility have never been settled. In fact, Senator Obama has resisted at every step to release his birth certificate and other relevant records that would resolve this matter. That he has fought this suggests the information is at least embarrassing, if not disqualifying.