I'm still investigating President Obama's birth certificate

[brassmonkey]

PHOENIX - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Tuesday vowed to the Surprise Tea Party Patriots, the group that five years ago petitioned him to investigate President Obama's birth certificate, that he was continuing the inquiry.

"I don't care where he's from," Arpaio told the crowd of about 200. "We are looking at a forged document. Period."

For Arpaio, last week's statement by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that Obama was born in this country had no weight on his volunteer posse's work.

"I know all the politicians say, 'Sheriff, don't talk about it,'" he told the crowd. "But how can I back down when we started it? I'm not going to just forget it."

Arpaio started his investigation in August 2011, months after Trump raised the issue. In April of that year, Obama held a news conference and posted an image of his birth certificate on the White House website.

"I had nothing to do with Trump on the birth certificate," Arpaio told the crowd. "We did it on our own, because of you guys."

The Surprise Tea Party asked Arpaio to investigate the birth certificate in a letter dated Aug. 20, 2011.

"They're the ones that got me stuck in this thing," Arpaio said in a brief interview before walking into the meeting room in the Sun City West Foundation Plaza.

Arpaio received the letter three days after Jerome Corsi, an author and reporter for World Net Daily, spoke to the Surprise Tea Party about his doubts on Obama's birth records.

On that day, according to a copy of the letter sent to Arpaio, the group gathered 242 signatures on a petition asking Arpaio to investigate whether Obama's birth certificate was a forgery.

Arpaio began the investigation that week. It has continued since.

"I'm not going to give up, and we're looking into it," he said. "I don't know how it's going to turn out."

Mike Zullo, the lead investigator on the case and commander of Arpaio's Cold Case Posse, told the crowd that he knew Trump's statement was a "punch in the gut, because it was unexpected."

Zullo said he thought Trump's statement was "strategic."

"It's not going to deter us," Zullo said. "It's not going to stop us. I am closer than ever."

Zullo, however, said that he was not sure whether Obama was not born in the United States. He also said an unnamed official high up in Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, the hospital listed on Obama's birth certificate, has "assured me that birth never took place there, and I believe him."

Trump said Friday that he believed Obama was born in the United States. He has not elaborated on what led him to this conclusion.

In a statement, his campaign said that Trump successfully ended the issue when Obama released his birth certificate in 2011.

"Having successfully obtained President Obama's birth certificate when others could not, Mr. Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States," reads the statement on Trump's website.

State Rep. Phil Lovas, a Peoria Republican and director of the Trump campaign in Arizona, said in a brief interview that the Trump statement speaks for itself.

Lovas said he, personally, believes that Obama's birth certificate is real.

"I believe it is, but I haven't examined it," Lovas said before addressing meeting attendees.

Jeff Lichter, who was among the Surprise Tea Party Patriots who signed the letter asking Arpaio for the investigation, demurred when asked about Trump's statement.

"I don't want to say anything that hurts Trump," Lichter said before the meeting began. "I don't want to say anything that makes national news."

But during a presentation to the Surprise Tea Party Patriots, Lichter said that, when he and two state lawmakers traveled to New York in April 2011 and met with Trump in Trump Tower, the businessman told them he anticipated Obama would be releasing a fake birth certificate.

"My sources in D.C. are telling me there is going to be a fake birth certificate," Lichter quoted Trump as saying.

Barb Heller, 59, of Glendale, who attended the meeting, said that she doesn't see a conflict between the birth certificate investigation and Trump's statement.

"He said he was born in the United States," Heller said before the meeting. "He didn't say it was a true document."

article...

[bronco67]

It'll be a great day when this guy finally dies.

[2MuchMark]

Phoenix tax dollars hard at work.

[brassmonkey]

Originally Posted by **********

Phoenix tax dollars hard at work.

actually it's county funds so just say state. i think the funds were from donations if i remember correctly. obama probably pays 3 or 4 times the taxes this lard ass pays.

[HowlingWulf]

So after 5 years his best lead is "unnamed official high up" that doesn't have any evidence but whom he believes. Got it.

[blackmonsters]

Originally Posted by **********

Phoenix tax dollars hard at work.

[jsmih]

Why is a county official investigating whether a document that was never presented to the county is a forgery? What a waste of time and resources, but hey, it keeps the Tea Pots happy. Can't believe the idiots in Maricopa keep electing this publicity hog.

[Horatio Caine]

If Joshua's parents were ever to lose their parental rights, this dude should get full custody.

[Look Chang]

This is pathetic

[nico-t]

Originally Posted by bronco67

It'll be a great day when this guy finally dies.

tolerant

[nico-t]

disappointed with the topic, i thought brasshat himself was still investigating... but it's another shitty copy & paste

[mineistaken]

Originally Posted by nico-t

tolerant

[Rochard]

I used to love Joe when I lived in Arizona years ago. Now he's just plain off his rocker.