Lt. Scott Easterling has entered a novel fight while serving in Iraq: he is suing President Barack Obama. Easterling is calling the President an “impostor” and challenging his right to issue commands while his birth status is in question. It is one of a series of lawsuit challenging the right of the President to serve on the basis of his birth status. It appears that he could be joined by Senator Richard Shelby in the litigation. Shelby has refused to accept Obama citizenship until he sees a birth certificate.
Easterling is supporting challenges filed by California attorney Orly Taitz and her Defend Our Freedom Foundation. He issued a statement: “As an active-duty officer in the United States Army, I have grave concerns about the constitutional eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama to hold the office of president of the United States,” wrote Scott Easterling in a “to-whom-it-may-concern” letter.
The statement will raise an interesting question for an active soldier. It appears that Lt. Easterling is still following orders and he does have a right to file a lawsuit. However, calling the Commander-in-Chief an “impostor” in an out-of-court statement could be the grounds for discipline under the military code. Here is the statement that he released to the public:
To Any and All Interested Parties,
As an active-duty Officer in the United States Army, I have grave concerns about the constitutional eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama to hold the Office of President of The United States. He has absolutely refused to provide to the American public his original birth certificate, as well as other documents which may prove or disprove his eligibility. In fact, he has fought every attempt made by concerned citizens in their effort to force him to do so.
Until Mr. Obama releases a “vault copy” of his original birth certificate for public review, I will consider him neither my Commander in Chief nor my President, but rather, a usurper to the Office – an impostor.
My conviction is such that I am compelled to join Dr. Orly Taitz’s lawsuit, as a plaintiff, against Mr. Obama. As a citizen, it pains me to do this, but as an Offficer, my sworn oath to support and defend our Constitution requires this action.
I joined the Army at age 40, after working in Iraq as a contractor with KBR in ‘05/’06. I chose to work with KBR to support my troops and then left that lucrative position when the Army raised it’s maximum enlistment age to 40. Upon completion of Basic Training, I entered Officer Candidate School and commissioned as a 2LT in August 2007. After completing the subsequent Basic Officer Leadership courses, I was assigned to Ft. Knox and shortly therafter deployed to Balad, Iraq. I was promoted to 1LT on Feb. 2, 2009 and I have approximately five months remaining of our fifteen month deployment.
I implore all Service-members and citizens to contact their Senators and Representatives and demand that they require Mr. Obama prove his eligibility. Our Constitution and our great nation must not be allowed to be disgraced.
Very Respectfull,
Scott R. Easterling
1LT OD/LG
United States Army
[Update: Now a second soldier has reportedly joined Easterling in his challenge to the President’s legitimacy.
The case may follow the same course as the court martial of Lt. Ehren Watada for his public comments against the Iraq war. His case led to some novel appeals and a mistrial. 
Vince and/or other attorneys,
If you had a client who had a questionable birth certificate and there was such an uproar as with Mr. Obama, why wouldn’t you advise your client to establish the unequivocal legitimacy of the document? With modern forensics, investigators can determine the age of the paper, ink, and perhaps other age-related aspects of the document. I do not understand why Mr. O or others would not want to settle this issue without doubt.
Surely, Obama is not be concerned with any potential legal jeopardy; would/should he be concerned? Yes, I think he met the legal requirements; however, I prefer to have definitive evidence to quash—for once and for all—this apparent nonsense of an invalid birth certificate.
Bob, Obama is qualified to be President. He was born in Hawaii, one of the United States, in 1961. His mother was an American citizen by birth. He is a natural born United States citizen. His birth certificate has been produced by official in Hawaii.
These challenges are by a bunch of fools. Go to the web and watch Keyes for a while.
Seems to me that part of the process of qualifying for candidacy would be proving that one meets the requirements of office before being placed on the ballot. In fact, it should be the first order of business. Surely that was done in this case.
That being said, this fool appears to be the next Paula Jones. It fits the pattern: gin up a specious accusation (or legal challenge), tie up the target in useless, expensive litigation, use your surrogates in the media (and in the Senate apparently) to drag the target’s name through the mud, and finally have the case tossed out of court, years later, due to lack of merit. But by then the damage has already been done.
I trust this “officer” will shortly be brought up on charges of insubordination and possibly dereliction of duty.
While I haven’t followed this topic with any seriousness, from a strictly formalist point of view, the analysis is quite clear.
Either Obama is or is not qualified under the constitution to serve as president.
If it is shown that he fails to meet the qualifications, then no amount of popularity, popular vote, court orders or legislation will remedy the problem since none of the foregoing would constitute an amendment pursuant to Article V.
Then again, who the hell really cares about the law seeing how this nation looked the other way as an Article III Supreme Court, bereft of any textual power of judicial review and strictly prohibited by Article IV’s guarantee of a republican form of government, used the separation of powers doctrine as a urinal puck in appointing G.W. Bush president of the United States.
Couldn’t resist.
Ronald Regan didn’t have a birth certificate either.
Jane,
QUOTE
According to the Associated Press, Obama’s official birth certificate was presented last year during the presidential campaign.
The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org examined the original document and said it does have a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuine document. In addition, Factcheck.org reproduced an announcement of Obama’s birth, including his parents’ address in Honolulu, that was published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Aug. 13, 1961. UNQUOTE
Shelby is backing away from any implied challenge to Obama’s status, and there is no indication that he is joining any lawsuit.
His communications director stated the comments were incomlete and distorted: QUOTE at the meeting, Shelby laid out the Constitutional qualifications for the presidency and said that, while he hasn’t personally seen the president’s birth certificate, he is confident the matter has been thoroughly examined.UNQUOTE
“…my sworn oath to support and defend our Constitution requires this action.”
I would feel his action were more sincere if he’d attemped to arrested any member of the cheneybush administration while they were “visiting” Iraq. At a minimum, he might have refused to serve under a president whose invasion of Iraq was illegal.
If Obama is an impostor, what the heck was that guy in the flight suit declaring “mission accomplished”?
What I’d like to know, is how someone who is so intellectually deficient made it through OCS and was awarded a commission?
I have yet to see any proof that Obama spent any money on a lawyer. In fact, the only time I’ve seen him represented by council is when a DNC lawyer filed a brief in the berg case.
Just face it, hes black…his middle name is Hussein and he’s just as Ronald Reagan.
Jane, this nonsense needs to end. I have followed the various lawsuits and they have been, without exception, frivolous. Had I pursued claims on behalf of my clients with no more merit than the suit filed by Orly Taitz, a fruitcake California dentist with a law degree from an unaccredited law school, I would have been properly sanctioned by the court. The federal judiciary has shown remarkable patience with these people. Where is the “long form” of your birth certificate, by the way? Tell you what, I’ll show you mine if you let me see yours.
Jane,
The reason Obama hired the lawyers is that the lawsuits are based on more than just the “birth certificate,” so simply showing the copy wouldn’t make them go away anymore than showing one receipt makes an IRS audit go away.
> Mr. Obama has hired lawyers and spend thousands of dollars to >fight anyone who dares ask the question Are you a natural born >citizen?
This is a typically Limbaugh-esque lie. The State of Hawaii has amply dealt with this as has the Supreme Court. For the record, Jane, it is not necessary for both parents to be American, whether natural-born or naturalized. Obama will release the long form of his birth certificate when the 2000 recount is completed in Florida. Such silliness.
Are we really still going on about this? It’s been over four months since the election and over a month since the inauguration. Surely these guys have something better to do with their time than clogging up the court systems with frivolity.
Jane,
Obama’s birth certificate has been released. He was born in Hawaii, the child of an American parent. The silliness of this argument is underscored by SCOTUS refusing the original case. No case was made at the time on McCain’s right to run for President because the Democrats, unlike the immoral Republican leaders, did not choose to act duplicitously.
Not only has a birth certificate, with seal been examined, but a birth announcement was made on the next day in Hawaii’s paper of record. The link below is one of many debunking the story. Also contrary to what you’ve probably heard on one of the “hate radio” shows you probably listen to, McCain also was reluctant to release his birth information.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthcertificate.asp
What is so sad for our country is that given the horrible problems we face, diehards like you refuse to pull together as Americans and respect our new President. In your limited perspective a President who is not a Republican is not legitimate. You behave like a football fan rooting for your team no matter what happens. When people of your ilk treat US politics in such a fashion, it reveals not only a lack of knowledge about how our government works, but a mentality that is treasonous to our American values.
Most ironically, you are probably not one of the “Haves and Have Mores” that G.W. Bush called his base. So in essence you are rooting against your own and your family’s best interests. If this political blindness though comes from being an Evangelical Christian, then you are betraying Jesus, despite what your Preacher says. This is so because the current crop of Republican leaders are amoral men, whose God is money and who worship the rich more than they care for the well-being of our country and in this respect they represents traitors to religious values and the American Dream.
Well since President Obama is this soldier’s commander in chief and said soldier does not recognize the Presiden’t authority, logic would dictate that this soldier should be relieved from active duty and given a dishonorable discharge so he can go back to working for the war profiteers over at KBR. Another point I’d like to make: Do Republicans see the irony in, after eight years of Bush and Cheney using our Constitution as toilet paper, that suddenly they all care so much about the Constitutionality of every issue. Hasn’t the Supreme Court already weighed in on this?
John McCain released the long form of his birth certificate,Mr.Obama has not. Both of John McCain’s parents are natural born citizens. Mr. Obama’s father was born in Kenya and is not a natural born citizen of the USA. John McCain father wsa serving in the Navy at the time of his birth. Senator Mccain was proven to be eligible to run for the Presidency. If Mr. Obama has nothing to hide,then why has he not released the long form of his birth certificate. Mr. Obama has hired lawyers and spend thousands of dollars to fight anyone who dares ask the question Are you a natural born citizen?
John McCain was born in Panama, which was neither the United State, nor a US territory. With some die hard Republican types the hypocrisy drips like the venom of a milked snake. They are equally poisonous.
“I joined the Army at age 40, after working in Iraq as a contractor with KBR in ‘05/’06. ”
Whereas Lt. Watada acted out of conscience (and heroically I might add), that above statement tells me all I need to know about Lt. Easterling’s true loyalties.