Associated Press Story About Obama Citizenship Case Reaching Supreme Court-Fiction!
Biden May Be Interim President By The End Of 2012-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
This is a forwarded clipping allegedly by the Associated Press that says the court case questioning the birth and citizenship status of Barack Obama is headed to the Supreme Court. Some versions of this eRumor ask if Joe Biden is going to be our interim President before the end of this year.
The Truth:
There was no such Associated Press Story and all indications lead us to believe that this was an April Fools Joke in 2009. This hoax that first appeared on April 1, 2009 has had a few modifications over the years and refuses to die.
There was a court case on January 24, 2010 in Southern California’s Santa Ana Supreme Court filed by attorney Orly Taitz but Judge David O. Carter, who presided over the case, dismissed it. In a written statement, Carter said that the court cannot “sweep away the votes of over 68 million Americans with the stroke of a pen, ” and “that the U.S. Constitution does not give the court jurisdiction to decide the matter.”
An Occidental College spokesperson told TruthorFiction.com that President Obama’s records are still sealed and no such transcripts have been released. When asked if the future President used the Obama or Soetoro name at the college, the spokesperson said that although he had not seen the sealed transcripts he had seen a 1981 photo book that was handed out to students and faculty at the beginning of the college year with student photos, names and hometown information. The 1981 photo book had “Barack Obama” under the student’s photo and indicated a home state as Hawaii.
There is no “Fulbright Foundation” but there is a Fulbright program that is sponsored by the US Department of State and does award scholarship grants to students working towards higher degrees who already have a Bachelor of Arts degree. The program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and each year awards approximately 7,500 grants. The grants are for both American students who want to study abroad and foreign students who want to study in the US. To be eligible certain criteria must be met.
Below is the original 2009 version of this email as appeared on April First 2009:
April 1, 2009 AP- WASHINGTON D.C. – In a move certain to fuel the debate over Obama’s qualifications for the presidency, the group “Americans for Freedom of Information” has released copies of President Obama’s college transcripts from Occidental College. Released today, the transcript indicates that Obama, under the name Barry Soetoro, received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia as an undergraduate at the school. The transcript was released by Occidental College in compliance with a court order in a suit brought by the group in the Superior Court of California. The transcript shows that Obama (Soetoro) applied for financial aid and was awarded a fellowship for foreign students from the Fulbright Foundation Scholarship program. To qualify, for the scholarship, a student must claim foreign citizenship. This document would seem to provide the smoking gun that many of Obama’s detractors have been seeking.
The news has created a firestorm at the White House as the release casts increasing doubt about Obama’s legitimacy and qualification to serve as president. When reached for comment in London, where he has been in meetings with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama smiled but refused comment on the issue. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs scoffed at the report stating that this was obviously another attempt by a right-wing conservative group to discredit the president and undermine the administration’s efforts to move the country in a new direction.
Britain’s Daily Mail has also carried the story in a front-page article titled, “Obama Eligibility Questioned”, leading some to speculate that the story may overshadow economic issues on Obama’s first official visit to the U.K.
In a related matter, under growing pressure from several groups, Justice Antonin Scalia announced that the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear arguments concerning Obama’s legal eligibility to serve as President in a case brought by Leo Donofrio of New Jersey. This lawsuit claims Obama’s dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. Donofrio’s case is just one of 18 suits brought by citizens demanding proof of Obama’s citizenship or qualification to serve as president.
Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation has released the results of their investigation of Obama’s campaign spending. This study estimates that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records. Mr. Kreep indicated that the investigation is still ongoing but that the final report will be provided to the U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder. Mr. Holder has refused to comment on the matter.
TruthOrFiction.Com has a complete page on the questionable citizenship of Barack Obama with photos of documents. Click here to go to that page.
updated 10/23/11