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Tea Party and Lawyer Reaction to Recent Eligibility News

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 1:48

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As billionaire businessman Donald Trump continues to rise in the latest we’re-not-quite-all-in-to-be-POTUS opinion poll, more reaction has been ensuing based on Mr. Trump’s foray into the eligibility question as well as reaction to reactions (shown in the second part of this posting) of a certain ex-Hawaiian Department of Health official.

First are a few key pull-quotes from arguably one of the first Tea Party organizers, Eric Odom, who recently weighed in on the eligibility issue in a short but well-written posting entitled, “Oh no… not a post about Obama’s birth certificate!“:

I view the “birtherism” realm a bit differently than most. I personally have not seen enough evidence to, without a doubt, prove the story in one way or another. So I’m not a “all in” believer that Barack Obama was born outside of America.

Put me in the group called “why would a sitting American President even allow the question to still exist?”

First, let me state that I think it’s a travesty to see so many in our movement insulted, mocked and discredited for asking questions about the birth certificate. I especially find it disturbing that beltway organizations (conservative) have in many cases cast out those who have questions on the subject. Even some tea party organizations tow the establishment line by refusing to allow members to openly ask the question in a calm and inquisitive manner.

Not only is it natural for Americans to question our leaders… it’s our duty. If you’re one who believes someone is “crazy” or “nutty” for asking a legitimate question, you’re playing against our instinct as born and raised Americans. …

My questions goes a bit deeper. As in, what kind of individual gets elected as President of the most powerful country in the world, then toys with Americans asking questions about his birth certificate? And worse, what kind of people sit in TV studios of “authentic media outlets,” mocking those who ask the real questions? What does it say about our Congress and Intelligence agencies that none are willing to end it all by providing an indisputable answer to the simple questions being asked?

Americans have every right to ask this question of our President. If our President doesn’t think it legitimate to be asked, and doesn’t go to every length possible to answer the question, my assertion is that he is not fit to be President of this great nation.

For me personally, it’s less about the document and more about the man behind it. [emphases original]

I couldn’t have said it any better or plainer.

Next, attorney Mario Apuzzo analytically responded to the now ex-Directory of Hawaii’s Health Department Dr. Chiyome Fukino’s recent interview on NBC. Once again, the posting is well worth the read; here are some key quotes:

“Contacted by NBC, Fukino expanded on previous public statements and made two key points when asked about Trump’s recent comments.”

Fukino no longer works for the Hawaii Department of Health. Why did Mr. Isikoff not contact the current health department director who overseas the birth certificates in Hawaii? Why do we have to hear from someone who no longer works for Hawaii and no longer has any control over or access to its vital records files? Why can we not hear from the current official who could tell us what is in the file today? …

“She found the original birth record, properly numbered, half typed and half handwritten, and signed by the doctor who delivered Obama, located in the files.”

Why does Fukino tell us that the real birth certificate showed the doctor on it but she fails to tell us that Obama’s birth occurred in a hospital which is what Obama told the public occurred? After all, she knows how much “birthers” have been demanding to see conclusive proof that Obama was born in Kapi’olani Hospital, the hospital in which Obama says he was born. There would be no violation of any privacy laws for her to simply say that he was born in a hospital, without giving the name of the hospital, just like she said that a doctor delivered Obama and signed the birth certificate. What is suspect is that there were numerous doctors at that time who could have delivered Obama but only two hospitals in which he could have been born, Kapi’olani Hospital or Queens Hospital. In other words, the doctors get lost in the shuffle but the hospitals do not. Just saying that a doctor signed the birth certificate does not open up channels of information that can be independently verified. On the other hand, knowing the birth hospital pins down the place of birth to only two specific locations in which there would be contained medical evidence of the alleged birth there. …

“’It is real, and no amount of saying it is not, is going to change that,’ Fukino said. Moreover, she added, her boss at the time, Lingle — who was backing John McCain for president — would presumably have to be in on any cover up since Fukino made her public comment at the governor’s office’s request. ‘Why would a Republican governor — who was stumping for the other guy — hold out on a big secret?’ she asked.”

Why is Fukino theorizing about what a Republican Governor would or would not do? Either Hawaii has or does not have the real birth certificate. If they have the document, there is no need to theorize that the Republican Governor would not go along with any conspiracy. Additionally, Fukino does not say that Lingle ever saw the real birth certificate. So how could Lingle be involved in any alleged “cover up” if she was never privy to any information on the issue? By dragging Lingle into the alleged conspiracy makes it look like Lingle had access to some inside information which she would not fabricate because of her opposition position with the Republican Party. …

“Her second point — one she made repeatedly in the interview — is that the shorter, computer generated ‘certification of live birth’ that was obtained by the Obama campaign in 2007 and has since been publicly released is the standard document that anybody requesting their birth certificate from the state of Hawaii would receive from the health department.

The document was distributed to the Obama campaign in 2007 after Obama, at the request of a campaign official, personally signed a Hawaii birth certificate request form downloaded on the Internet, according to a former campaign official who asked for anonymity. (Obama was ‘testy’ when asked to sign the form but did so anyway to put the issue to rest, the former campaign official said.”

Why should a former campaign official who was involved in a presidential election and who can shed light on this national crisis issue want to maintain anonymity? Should concerned Americans not be able to learn who was intimately involved in handling Obama’s birth certificate? After all, what is the harm to anyone in knowing that information?

In 2007, there was no issue regarding Obama’s place of birth. The issue of his place of birth came up in 2008. So how could Obama have been “testy” in having to obtain his birth certificate and for reasons of putting “the issue to rest?” If there was no place of birth issue in 2007 why did Obama allegedly request his Certification of Live Birth (COLB) in 2007 which he did receive and which is dated June 6, 2007 to put to rest a nonexistent issue? Why have we not heard that Obama used that 2007 COLB by sending a copy of it to someone who he thought needed it? We have not heard that he sent a copy of that document to any state election officials to show that he was a “natural born Citizen.” Why did Obama wait a whole year before using the 2007 COLB? …

“The certification that the campaign received back —which shows that Obama was born in Honolulu at 7:24 p.m. on Aug. 4, 1961 — was based on the content of the original document in state files, Fukino said.

‘What he got, everybody got,’ said Fukino. ‘He put out exactly what everybody gets when they ask for a birth certificate.’”

But Fukino fails to tell us who in the Hawaii Department of Health processed in 2007 Obama’s alleged request for a copy of his birth certificate. She does not tell us that she personally looked at the real birth certificate and used it to prepare the COLB. She is only speculating that someone did that. But she does not tell us who would have done that at that time. As the director of that department, she would have known who her employees were at that time. She could have easily identified the employee who prepared the document so that Mr. Isikoff could have done further “investigative” follow up with that person. …

“In addition, as Factcheck.org and other media organizations have repeatedly pointed out, both of Honolulu’s newspapers, the Honolulu Advertiser on Aug. 13, 1961, and the Honolulu Star Bulletin, on Aug. 14, 1961, both ran birth announcements listing Obama’s birth on Aug. 4 of that year.”

The newspaper birth announcements are not evidence of a birth in Hawaii. At best they are evidence that the Hawaii Department of Health put those ads in the newspapers based on a birth being registered as having occurred in Hawaii. The announcements are not the product of a medically verified birth in Hawaii. They do not have a direct link to the birth hospital. …

“Even Fukino accepts that her comments are not likely to end the matter for the die-hard birthers. Trump and other skeptics have questioned why the original birth certificate has not been released.

But Wisch, the spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said state law does not in fact permit the release of “vital records,” including an original “record of live birth” — even to the individual whose birth it records.

‘It’s a Department of Health record and it can’t be released to anybody,’ he said. Nor do state laws have any provision that authorizes such records to be photocopied, Wisch said. If Obama wanted to personally visit the state health department, he would be permitted to inspect his birth record, Wisch said.

But if he or anybody else wanted a copy of their birth records, they would be told to fill out the appropriate state form and receive back the same computer generated ‘certification of live birth’ form that everybody else gets — which is exactly what Obama did four years ago.”

Fukino attacks anyone who will not be convinced by her story, marginalizing them and casting aspersions toward them. It is rather absurd for Mr. Wisch to contend that someone could not get a certified copy of their own birth certificate, especially the President of the United States. There is no law in Hawaii that so provides. On the contrary, the Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section 338-13(a) states that the department “shall, upon request, furnish an applicant a certified copy of any certificate, or the contents of any certificate, or any part thereof.” Paragraph (c) also provides that copies of birth certificates “may be made by photograph, dry copy reproduction, typing, computer printout or other process approved by the director of health.” Hence, Hawaii’s statutes directly contradict what Mr. Wisch is telling the public.