Obama Birth Certificate Lawsuit, African Press International, Michelle Obama UPDATES

Obama Birth Certificate:
Berg v. Obama Federal Lawsuit News Update
African Press International News Update

* Ruling Possible today in Berg v. Obama?
* African Press International completes Arrangements for Legal Representation in North America

Updates to this story at: Obama Birth Certificate: Ruling in Berg v. Obama Expected In Next Two Days

There may be some movement in the federal lawsuit, Berg v. Obama, today.

Jeff Schreiber, a legal student who's also been covering the case from Philadelphia and has sources inside the federal courthouse is writing that there likely could be a ruling before this weekend.

From
Space Reserved for News on Court Order:

"I have, from good and reliable sources, information suggesting that the Hon. R. Barclay Surrick will come down with an order and memorandum either on Thursday or Friday."

This space is reserved for news on that order. Therefore, unless something monumental occurs over the next two days, I will not be reporting anything further so as to reserve this spot for news regarding the decision in the Berg v. Obama case. It should be easier for everyone that you can simply check this part of the page for news of the order without having to wade through anything else.

Schreiber, who was the first to write about the Berg suit (Berg is demanding that Barack Obama supply the court with proof of his U.S. citizenship), has been the best source of news on Berg v. Obama.

Schreiber's site, America's Right, has a complete archive of the motions filed by both sides in the lawsuit and a trip through AR's archives, located on the right sidebar, will get readers up to speed on the case from the beginning.

Schreiber's best guess (he clearly labels it as one) has been that Berg lacks standing to sue Obama in federal court. From talking to his sources, Schreiber senses that the judge may surprise everyone on this point.

Common sense, for the past two months, has told me that Philip Berg's case will be eventually dismissed on grounds of lack of standing. Nevertheless, I have had a gut feeling that Judge Surrick may very well just surprise us all -- the information I have been getting over the past 24-36 hours reinforces that gut feeling.

Jeff Schreiber also tags this bit of info onto the above-cited post:

"Please refrain from calling the courthouse, as I am told that the phone calls are coming in at the rate of several dozen each day. And, as always, keep checking here at America's Right for updates, especially this crucial one. America's Right was the first to report on this lawsuit when it was filed on August 21, and I have no reason to believe that America's Right will not be the first to report on the judge's decision."

ALSO at DBKP:

* Obama Birth Certificate Lawsuit: Obama, DNC Fail to Respond-UPDATED
* Washington Man Files Lawsuit over Obama Citizenship Questions
* Obama College, Medical, Birth Records: Who is Barack Obama?
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: Video Released On YouTube
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: Updates, News and Reactions
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: The Curious Behavior of the Obama Campaign
* Obama, Bill Ayers, and FactCheck.Org: All Have Ties To Annenberg Foundation

NOTES:

* DBKP has attempted to reach Phillip Berg over the last 24 hours, but Mr. Berg was out of his office yesterday, making the rounds of talk shows. Berg appeared on three different ones yesterday, including G.Gordon Liddy's.

* There have been two lawsuits in the states of Washington and Hawaii asking Obama to provide the secretary of state with basically the same information sought by Berg. According to reports, these cases would have a much better chance of success on the standing issue.

AFRICAN PRESS INTERNATIONAL

On the African Press International story (Michelle Obama's supposed phone conversation with a small African news agency), a much different update was being prepared than this one.

It has been nine days since African Press International claimed that Michelle Obama called one of its correspondents and made some controversial remarks. [Shocking development: Mrs Obama decides enough is enough: "My husband was born in Hawaii and adopted by his step father, does that make him unpatriotic; she asks", on a direct telephone to API.]

Some bloggers have grown impatient and washed their hands of the entire affair, pronouncing it a hoax.

These writers may very well be correct in their assessment.

Our opinion?

We really don't have one. We have no reason to disbelieve African Press International's account of the incident. The Obama campaign quickly issued denials to ABC and NRO concerning the story. That makes it a legitimate story in our minds, so we'll report on it.

DBKP was ready to join their ranks of those believing it was a hoax and decided to reserve judgment a bit.

Our reasoning?

We're here to report on the developments--if any--of this story. Is it a hoax? We repeatedly said: we don't know. We don't think anyone else at this point, outside of the principals involved, knows either. We'll let our readers make their own decisions about whether they believe or disbelieve the API stories.

That being said, DBKP has obtained information that legal representation for API for all of North America has been worked out and that the attorneys involved believe that they will have possession of the audio tapes later today.

From all accounts, API is described as a bunch of amateurs, unschooled in handling the unexpected attention their story brought them.

We've also received a few reports that several people have heard "snippets" from the tapes and that that they appear to be legitimate. We will caution:

We have no way of confirming this;
We have no way of knowing how these individuals arrived at their decision that they appeared legitimate; and,
We have no information on whether the individuals who've claimed they've heard the "snippets" of the audio have any particular background or expertise in validating or authenticating audio tapes.

We do have more reason to believe that whatever audio is available will be in the hands of attorneys in North America today.

The question of whether they are real or not would then have to be examined.

We will post more information as it becomes available and, as always, let our readers make their own judgments.

by Mondo Frazier
images: dbkp file