"Birthers" continue misinformation, disinformation campaign

If you got a forwarded e-mail about all this, rest easy.
It's not at all true. In fact, it's a political
misinformation campaign designed to inflame and confuse
American voters and the public. - The Legendary

FW: VERY QUIETLY OBAMA'S CITIZENSHIP CASE REACHES SUPREME
COURT

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. Along with the evidence that he was first born in
Kenya and there is no record of him ever applying for US
citizenship, this is looking pretty grim. 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.
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.

LET OTHER FOLKS KNOW THIS NEWS, THE MEDIA WON'T!

But wait, there's more!

Obama Faces More Questions on Citizenship

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.

Mr. David Emery of the website Ask.com tracks these types of
disinformation campaigns. Here's what he has to say about
all this:

Analysis:

Hoax. The original April 1, 2009 posting date suggests it
may have been intended as an April Fools prank, but given
that the text does little else but parrot actual tenets of
the so-called "Birther" movement (the folks who claim Barack
Obama is ineligible for the presidency due to a forged or
invalid birth certificate), it barely qualifies as satire.

Is it really an AP news story?

No. The Associated Press ("AP") never published such a story
in any real newspaper, nor on any real wire service. It can,
however, be found posted and reposted on hundreds of anti-
Obama blogs and websites.

Did a group called "Americans for Freedom of Information"
release Obama's transcripts?

No. The organization doesn't exist or didn't at the time the
above message first began circulating, at any rate. A
similarly-named website went up after the fact, but there is
no evident connection between the website and the fake news
story.

Has anyone released Obama's Occidental College transcripts?

No, they haven't been released, nor has any court of law
"ordered" Obama's transcripts released. Source: Occidental
College

Did Obama attend Occidental under the name "Barry Soetoro"?

No. Soetoro was the name of Obama's stepfather, but there's
no evidence he attended college under that name. Fellow
alumni quoted in the press remember him as "Barry Obama." An
Occidental College spokesperson told there are no records
showing that Obama used his stepfather's last name.

Did Obama attend Occidental under a Fulbright Scholarship
for Foreign Students?

No. According to news sources, Obama did attend Occidental
on a scholarship, but it wasn't a Fulbright scholarship, let
alone a Fulbright designated for foreign students. The
Fulbright Foreign Student Program is for Master's Degree and
Ph.D. candidates only. Obama was neither. He couldn't have
been awarded a Fulbright scholarship for foreign students.
Source: Fulbright Program.

Did the Daily Mail discuss these revelations in a news story
entitled "Obama Eligibility Questioned"?

No. No such story turns up in a search of the London
newspaper's archive.

Did the Supreme Court agree to hear arguments on Obama's
eligibility?

No. The Supreme Court refused to consider the Donofrio case
(not to mention every other Obama citizenship case submitted
to date).

Did Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation
release a study showing Obama has spent $950,000 in campaign
funds to fight litigation over his legitimacy?

I've found no record of any such study being published. The
foundation does exist and its Executive Director is indeed a
man named Gary Kreep, but he is on record as saying the
above story is a hoax.