| A prominent Philadelphia attorney and Hillary Clinton supporter filed suit this > afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania > against Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic National Committee and the > Federal Election Commission. The action seeks an injunction preventing the > senator from continuing his candidacy and a court order enjoining the DNC from > nominating him next week, all on grounds that Sen. Obama is constitutionally > ineligible to run for and hold the office of President of the United States.> > Phillip Berg, the filing attorney, is a former gubernatorial and senatorial > candidate, former chair of the Democratic Party in Montgomery (PA) County, > former member of the Democratic State Committee, and former Deputy Attorney > General of Pennsylvania. According to Berg, he filed the suit--just days before > the DNC is to hold its nominating convention in Denver--for the health of the > Democratic Party.> > "I filed this action at this time," Berg stated, "to avoid the obvious problems > that will occur when the Republican Party raises these issues after Obama is > nominated.".> > Berg cited a number of unanswered questions regarding the Illinois senator's > background, and in today's lawsuit maintained that Sen. Obama is not a natural > born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was > adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls "dual loyalties" due to his > citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia.> > Even if Sen. Obama can prove his U.S. citizenship, Berg stated, citing the > senator's use of a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii verified as a > forgery by three independent document forensic experts, the issue of > "multi-citizenship with responsibilities owed to and allegiance to other > countries" remains on the table.> > In the lawsuit, Berg states that Sen. Obama was born in Kenya, and not in Hawaii > as the senator maintains. Before giving birth, according to the lawsuit, Obama's > mother traveled to Kenya with his father but was prevented from flying back to > Hawaii because of the late stage of her pregnancy, "apparently a normal > restriction to avoid births during a flight." As Sen. Obama's own paternal > grandmother, half-brother and half-sister have also claimed, Berg maintains that > Stanley Ann Dunham--Obama's mother--gave birth to little Barack in Kenya and > subsequently flew to Hawaii to register the birth.> > Berg cites inconsistent accounts of Sen. Obama's birth, including reports that > he was born at two separate hospitals--Kapiolani Hospital and Queens > Hospital--in Honolulu, as well a profound lack of birthing records for Stanley > Ann Dunham, though simple "registry of birth" records for Barack Obama are > available in a Hawaiian public records office.> > Should Sen. Obama truly have been born in Kenya, Berg writes, the laws on the > books at the time of his birth hold that U.S. citizenship may only pass to a > child born overseas to a U.S. citizen parent and non-citizen parent if the > former was at least 19 years of age. Sen. Obama's mother was only 18 at the > time. Therefore, because U.S. citizenship could not legally be passed on to him, > Obama could not be registered as a "natural born" citizen and would therefore be > ineligible to seek the presidency pursuant to Article II, Section 1 of the > United States Constitution.> > Moreover, even if Sen. Obama could have somehow been deemed "natural born," that > citizenship was lost in or around 1967 when he and his mother took up residency > in Indonesia, where Stanley Ann Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian > citizen. Berg also states that he possesses copies of Sen. Obama's registration > to Fransiskus Assisi School In Jakarta, Indonesia which clearly show that he was > registered under the name "Barry Soetoro" and his citizenship listed as > Indonesian.> > The Hawaiian birth certificate, Berg says, is a forgery. In the suit, the > attorney states that the birth certificate on record is a forgery, has been > identified as such by three independent document forensic experts, and actually > belonged to Maya Kasandra Soetoro, Sen. Obama's half-sister.> > "Voters donated money, goods and services to elect a nominee and were defrauded > by Sen. Obama's lies and obfuscations," Berg stated. "If the DNC officers ... > had performed one ounce of due diligence we would not find ourselves in this > emergency predicament, one week away from making a person the nominee who has > lost their citizenship as a child and failed to even perform the basic steps of > regaining citizenship as prescribed by constitutional laws."> > "It is unfair to the country," he continued, "for candidates of either party to > become the nominee when there is any question of the ability to serve if > elected."> > > > > |
