As outlined in more detail below, Mr. Philip A. Berg alleges, in his lawsuit against Obama, that the birth certificate published on Obama's website is a forgery. (Note: Berg's complaint has been dismissed, but he is appealing in both the Third Circuit and the Supreme Court. See here for current status of his appeals.)
12/30 Update: Several editorial changes were made to conform to related, updated posts.
So, the question is, what's the evidence to support these allegations?
(Note: If you are aware of additional evidence, that either supports or refuts the allegations, please submit it through a Comment, and we will update this information accordingly! Thank you!)
Let's break the allegations down:
Analysis of "Evidence" Available on the Internet
| A |
"After many attempts of the public to obtain Obama's Certificate of Birth,...." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| ???? |
We have found multiple "rhetorical" questions on the internet, but to date have not found evidence of any actual attempts or requests. However, we recall previously reading that that at least some bloggers may have written e-mails and/or attempted to obtain the birth certificate from the Hawaii Department of Health.
9/22 Update: Politifact reported that:
We tried to obtain a copy of Obama's birth certificate, but his campaign would not release it and the state of Hawaii does not make such records public. (UPDATE: On June 12, 2008, the Obama campaign e-mailed to PolitiFact a copy of the senator's birth certificate. It confirms our findings. See it for yourself here.) |
======== 9/22 Update Source: See Politifact.com, Truth-o-Meter. |
--- |
| ???? |
We received a comment from Polarik (the person we believe is one of the "experts" identified in Berg's Complaint). While the Comment did not comply with our standards for publishable comments, we note that his comment included the following information:
"My evidence consistgs of three months of solid, irrefutable proof that (a) Obama has never shown his original birth record or his current birth record to the media or to any neutral party..."
While Polarik's comment did not provide evidence of any actual attempts or requests, we are including this information as promised.
12/30 Update: For additional information on Polarik's Subsequent Reports (and comments), see here. |
N/A
======== 9/22 Update Source: See Certificate of Live Birth analysis - Part one (Polarik, Sept. 18, 2008) |
--- |
| Conclusion: Unclear at time of Filing; True Now. |
| As noted above, while we have yet not found evidence of such requests, we do believe that at least some bloggers attempted to obtain this information from the Hawaii Dept. of Health.
12/30 Update: TRUE NOW: In the months since Berg's case was filed, multiple bloggers have reported their attempts to obtain the Birth Certificate. Additionally, the Hawaii Department of Health has commented on multiple requests for the Birth Certificate. See, e.g., "Officials verify birth certificate of Obama; Hawaii's health director steps in after numerous requests for the document," Star-Bulletin, Nov. 1, 2008; Obama's Certificate of Birth OK, State Says; Health Director Issues Voucher in Response to 'Ridiculous' Barrage, Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 1, 2008 (""This has gotten ridiculous," state health director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said yesterday. "There are plenty of other, important things to focus on, like the economy, taxes, energy." So, in what likely will be a vain attempt to halt the inquiries, Fukino yesterday issued a statement saying that she and the registrar of vital statistics personally inspected Obama's birth certificate and found it to be valid. Will this be enough to quiet the doubters? "I hope so," Fukino said. "We need to get some work done." Fukino issued her statement to try to stomp out persistent rumors that Obama was not born in Honolulu -- and is therefore not a U.S. citizen and thus ineligible to run for president.) |
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| B |
"... a Hawaiian Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) was placed on Obama's campaign website." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| True |
A copy of Obama's COLB was posted on Obama's campaign website. |
See here. |
--- |
| Conclusion: True |
| A copy of the COLB is posted on Obama's campaign website. |
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| C |
"However, as posted all over the internet, three (3) independent Document Forensic Experts performed extensive Forensic testing on the Certificate of Live Birth posted on Obama's campaign website." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
| ???? |
Because Mr. Berg does not identify the alleged "Document Forensic Experts," it is virtually impossible to determine the person(s) to whom he is referring. However, we have located two one (but not three) anonymous posters who allege (a) that they are "experts" or "document forensic experts"; and (b) that they peformed "extensive testing" or "performed extensive forensic testing" on the COLB posted on the Obama campaign website.
Both posters have declined to identify themselves, but go by the "screennames" of of "Polarik" and "TechDude."
Because the information relating to Polarik and Techdude is rather extensive, we've created separate pages to deal with each person's claims:
9/22 Update: Mr. Berg has now identified - at least by screen name - one of the alleged "experts," confirming our assumption that Polarik was one of the three experts Berg referenced was Polarik. See Certificate of Live Birth analysis - Part one (Polarik, Sept. 18, 2008). On the Berg website, this person identifies himself as "Ron Polarik." 12/29 Update: However, in publishing a Mr. Berg has published a video of "Dr. Ron Polarik," discussing his claims, video of Polarik discussing his Claims, the Berg site introduced the video as follows: "This video provides an analysis of Obama's Certificate of Live Birth by Dr. Ron Polarik detailing the factors contributing to his conclusion that the document is not authentic. "Dr. Polarik" is a pseudonym and his identity is obscured in this video."
9/24 Update: It has been reported to us that a Berg representative has expressly denied that "Techdude" (or "Tech Dude") is one of their experts. Per the report, "Berg's Assistant" stated: "Now, just to clear the air, I want to be very clear, Tech dude is NOT one of our Experts. ...[Y]ou don't know who techdue is, however, we do." Link provided in report (Statement in comments). As noted in a separate comment (by "SE"), Berg's website posted an article on August 23, titled "Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate." In that article, Mr. Berg stated: "My deepest thanks and appreciation our forensic analyst[] & .," and invited the public to read that analyst's full report: "Read the completer (sic) report at Atlas Shrugs" -- which is, in fact, a "Final Report" written by "Techdude." This article was removed from Berg's site sometime after September 18, but can still be found in Google's cache: Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate. |
| FALSE |
Other self-identified experts and investigators, most of whom have disclosed their real name and credentials, have determined that the COLB is, in fact, authentic, as summarized here and/or here. |
| Conclusion: Unclear |
We can confirm that two one (but not three) anonymous posters* have published materials in which it is asserted that they are experts or document forensic experts and that they performed extensive forensic testing or performed extensive testingon an Obama COLB.
Moreover, multiple attributed and attributable sources have reported that the COLB is authentic, as reported here.
*9/24 Update: See note above re: Techdude. |
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| D |
"The Forensic Expert findings were the Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) was in fact a forgery." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
| ???? |
Because Mr. Berg does not identify the alleged "Document Forensic Experts," it is virtually impossible to determine the person(s) to whom he is referring. However, we have located two one (but not three) anonymous posters who allege (a) that they are "document forensic experts"; and (b) that they "performed extensive forensic testing" on the COLB posted on the Obama campaign website.
Both posters have declined to identify themselves, but go by the "screennames" of "Polarik" and "TechDude."
Because the information relating to Polarik and Techdude is rather extensive, we've created separate pages to deal with each person's claims:
9/22 Update: Mr. Berg has now identified - at least by screen name - one of the alleged "experts," confirming our assumption that Polarik was one of the three experts Berg referenced was Polarik. See Certificate of Live Birth analysis - Part one (Polarik, Sept. 18, 2008). On the Berg website, this person identifies himself as "Ron Polarik." 12/29 Update: However, in publishing a Mr. Berg has published a video of "Dr. Ron Polarik," discussing his claims, video of Polarik discussing his Claims, the Berg site introduced the video as follows: "This video provides an analysis of Obama's Certificate of Live Birth by Dr. Ron Polarik detailing the factors contributing to his conclusion that the document is not authentic. "Dr. Polarik" is a pseudonym and his identity is obscured in this video."
9/24 Update: It has been reported to us that a Berg representative has expressly denied that "Techdude" (or "Tech Dude") is one of their experts. Per the report, "Berg's Assistant" stated: "Now, just to clear the air, I want to be very clear, Tech dude is NOT one of our Experts. ...[Y]ou don't know who techdue is, however, we do." Link provided in report (Statement in comments). As noted in a separate comment (by "SE"), Berg's website posted an article on August 23, titled "Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate." In that article, Mr. Berg stated: "My deepest thanks and appreciation our forensic analyst[] & .," and invited the public to read that analyst's full report: "Read the completer (sic) report at Atlas Shrugs" -- which is, in fact, a "Final Report" written by "Techdude." This article was removed from Berg's site sometime after September 18, but can still be found in Google's cache: Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate. |
| FALSE |
Other self-identified experts and investigators, most of whom have disclosed their real name and credentials, have determined that the COLB is, in fact, authentic, as summarized here and/or here. |
| Conclusion: Unclear |
|
We can confirm that two one (but not three) anonymous posters* have published their conclusions that an Obama COLB was forged (although not necessarily the COLB file posted on the Obama campaign website).
Moreover, multiple attributed and attributable sources have reported that the COLB is authentic.
*9/24 Update: But see note above re: Techdude. |
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| E |
"It was further discovered that this original Certificate of Live Birth which had been altered and forged was issued to Maya Kasandra Soetoro, born in 1970." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| False |
See Conclusion. |
See Conclusion. |
--- |
| Conclusion: False/Unsubstantiated |
| We have conducted multiple Google searches, but have been unable to find the original source reporting this, although we found many many posts referencing the Berg complaint itself.
We did find this entry at NoQuarter: Why Is Maya Soetoro's Name on Barack's Phony Certificate of Live Birth? (and a few other entries such as this), which reference a report on TexasDarlin's blog. However, TexasDarlin, noted some issues with TechDude's work (cached here):
"All information that we have received from Techdude has been published. We have not seen the rest of his evidence. At present, he is unavailable. Should he not respond promptly, we will remove his statements and findings. In the future, if we receive all of the documentation he promised and are able to prove that it's credible, we will restore his reports."
She subsequently pulled all of Techdude's work off her website. We have not located any blog which continues to espouse this theory, although, as noted above, we've found multiple postings refering to Berg's complaint and/or the retracted original report on TexasDarlin.
See also Polarik's analysis of Techdude here (post 45): (Note: Polarik is the other identified "expert" apparently referenced in Berg's complaint.):
"....I broke the news about how TechDude fabricated his evidence and pretty much lied about everything else. I knew it from the beginning, and all the time, I kept it to myself, as a favor to TexasDarling, who had done an "Exclusive" on his work just as Pam Geller had done, as well as Israel Insider, too. He suckered a lot of people an tarnished not only himself, but everyone else who trusted him...."
Special Note: We have not yet located the original report in which Polarik "broke the news" referenced above, and were unable to located it on his blog. However, we will update this information if and when we find it.
Therefore, we conclude that this assertion is false and/or unsubstantiated.
9/24 Update: It has been reported to us that a Berg representative has expressly denied that "Techdude" (or "Tech Dude") is one of their experts. Per the report, "Berg's Assistant" stated: "Now, just to clear the air, I want to be very clear, Tech dude is NOT one of our Experts. ...[Y]ou don't know who techdue is, however, we do." Link provided in report (Statement in comments). As noted in a separate comment (by "SE"), Berg's website posted an article on August 23, titled "Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate." In that article, Mr. Berg stated: "My deepest thanks and appreciation our forensic analyst[] & .," and invited the public to read that analyst's full report: "Read the completer (sic) report at Atlas Shrugs" -- which is, in fact, a "Final Report" written by "Techdude." This article was removed from Berg's site sometime after September 18, but can still be found in Google's cache: Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate.
|
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| F |
"Maya Kasandra Soetoro is Obama's half sister who was born in Indonesia." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| True |
According to sources cited in Wikipedia, as well as Obama's memoir, Dreams of My Father, Maya Soetoro is Obama's half sister who was born in Indonesia.
Disclaimer: See Important Note re: Wipedia, here. |
Wikipedia - Maya Soetoro-Ng. |
--- |
| Conclusion: True/Undisputed |
| It is undisputed that Maya Soetoro is Obama's half sister who was born in Indonesia. |
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| G |
"...and her birth was later registered in Hawaii." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| False |
See Conclusion. |
See Conclusion. |
--- |
| Conclusion: False/Unsubstantiated |
| We have conducted multiple Google searches, but have been unable to find the original source reporting this, although we found many many posts referencing the Berg complaint itself.
We did find this entry at NoQuarter: Why Is Maya Soetoro's Name on Barack's Phony Certificate of Live Birth? (and a few other entries such as this), which reference a report on TexasDarlin's blog. However, TexasDarlin, noted some issues with TechDude's work (cached here):
"All information that we have received from Techdude has been published. We have not seen the rest of his evidence. At present, he is unavailable. Should he not respond promptly, we will remove his statements and findings. In the future, if we receive all of the documentation he promised and are able to prove that it's credible, we will restore his reports."
She subsequently pulled all of Techdude's work off her website. We have not located any blog which continues to espouse this theory, although, as noted above, we've found multiple postings refering to Berg's complaint and/or the retracted original report on TexasDarlin.
See also Polarik's analysis of Techdude here (post 45): (Note: Polarik is the other identified "expert" apparently referenced in Berg's complaint.):
"....I broke the news about how TechDude fabricated his evidence and pretty much lied about everything else. I knew it from the beginning, and all the time, I kept it to myself, as a favor to TexasDarling, who had done an "Exclusive" on his work just as Pam Geller had done, as well as Israel Insider, too. He suckered a lot of people an tarnished not only himself, but everyone else who trusted him...."
Therefore, we conclude that this assertion is false and/or unsubstantiated.
9/24 Update: It has been reported to us that a Berg representative has expressly denied that "Techdude" (or "Tech Dude") is one of their experts. Per the report, "Berg's Assistant" stated: "Now, just to clear the air, I want to be very clear, Tech dude is NOT one of our Experts. ...[Y]ou don't know who techdue is, however, we do." Link provided in report (Statement in comments). As noted in a separate comment (by "SE"), Berg's website posted an article on August 23, titled "Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate." In that article, Mr. Berg stated: "My deepest thanks and appreciation our forensic analyst[] & .," and invited the public to read that analyst's full report: "Read the completer (sic) report at Atlas Shrugs" -- which is, in fact, a "Final Report" written by "Techdude." This article was removed from Berg's site sometime after September 18, but can still be found in Google's cache: Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate. |
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| H |
"The altered and forged COLB ..." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| ???? |
See conclusion. |
--- |
--- |
| Conclusion: Unclear |
As shown above, we have left the conclusion regarding any forgery as "unclear," especially given that we have been unable to determine who third [two of the three] "independent forensic expert" is are, or what his/her [their] findings are.
See also:
9/22 Update: Mr. Berg has now identified - at least by screen name - one of the alleged "experts," confirming our assumption that Polarik was one of the three experts Berg referenced was Polarik. See Certificate of Live Birth analysis - Part one (Polarik, Sept. 18, 2008). On the Berg website, this person identifies himself as "Ron Polarik." 12/29 Update: However, in publishing a Mr. Berg has published a video of "Dr. Ron Polarik," discussing his claims, video of Polarik discussing his Claims, the Berg site introduced the video as follows: "This video provides an analysis of Obama's Certificate of Live Birth by Dr. Ron Polarik detailing the factors contributing to his conclusion that the document is not authentic. "Dr. Polarik" is a pseudonym and his identity is obscured in this video."
9/24 Update: It has been reported to us that a Berg representative has expressly denied that "Techdude" (or "Tech Dude") is one of their experts. Per the report, "Berg's Assistant" stated: "Now, just to clear the air, I want to be very clear, Tech dude is NOT one of our Experts. ...[Y]ou don't know who techdue is, however, we do." Link provided in report (Statement in comments). As noted in a separate comment (by "SE"), Berg's website posted an article on August 23, titled "Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate." In that article, Mr. Berg stated: "My deepest thanks and appreciation our forensic analyst[] & .," and invited the public to read that analyst's full report: "Read the completer (sic) report at Atlas Shrugs" -- which is, in fact, a "Final Report" written by "Techdude." This article was removed from Berg's site sometime after September 18, but can still be found in Google's cache: Forensic analysis of Obama birth certificate. |
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| I |
"[The COLB] ...is still on Obama's web site located at http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/birthcert [sic] " |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| True |
The COLB is, as of today, still posted on the Obama campaign web site, here. |
COLB - Obama Campaign Website |
--- |
| Conclusion: True |
| As of today (September 9, 2008), the COLB is still posted on the Obama campaign website. |
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| J |
"Obama clearly shows consciousness of guilt by his actions by posting a forged birth certificate on his website, and by and the falsifications he told to cover his loss of citizenship." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| False |
See Conclusion. |
None. |
--- |
| Conclusion: False/Unsubstantiated |
As shown above, we have left the conclusion regarding any forgery as "unclear," given that we have been unable to determine who [two of the three] the third "independent forensic expert" is are, or what his/her [their] findings are. With respect to the one identified expert, see Analysis of Polarik's Findings.
However, even if it were determined that a file was forged, Berg has provided no evidence, and we have been unable to locate any evidence indicating that Obama knew of any such forgery. |
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| K |
"Obama attempted to defraud Plaintiff and the American people by allowing an altered and forged Hawaii Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) to be placed on his campaign website." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| False |
See Conclusion. |
None. |
--- |
| Conclusion: False/Unsubstantiated |
As shown above, we have left the conclusion regarding any forgery as "unclear," given that we have been unable to determine who [two of the three] the third "independent forensic expert" is are, or what his/her [their] findings are. With respect to the one identified expert, see Analysis of Polarik's Findings.
However, even if it were determined that a file was forged, Berg has provided no evidence, and we have been unable to locate any evidence indicating that Obama knew of any such forgery. |
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| L |
"Obama was well aware the Government issued COLB was altered and forged as the original document was in the name of Maya Kasandra Soetoro born in 1970." |
| What's Your Evidence? |
Citation |
Notes |
| False |
See Conclusion. |
None. |
--- |
| Conclusion: False/Unsubstantiated |
As shown above, we have left the conclusion regarding any forgery as "unclear," given that we have been unable to determine who [two of the three] the third "independent forensic expert" is are, or what his/her [their] findings are. With respect to the one identified expert, see Analysis of Polarik's Findings.
However, even if it were determined that a file was forged, Berg has provided no evidence, and we have been unable to locate any evidence indicating that Obama knew of any such forgery. |
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