There is One Republican Presidential Candidate Who Has Taken Action on the Eligibility Question

CALIFORNIA SECRETARY OF STATE DISQUALIFIES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES BASED ON ARTICLE II REQUIREMENTS

by Sharon Rondeau

(Apr. 14, 2012) — In an article published on Easter Sunday, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was quoted as having said that he had “met with every one of the GOP presidential candidates” to discuss the Obama eligibility and the conclusions reached by the Cold Case Posse which reported on March 1, 2012, that Obama’s Selective Service card and long-form birth certificate are most likely forgeries.  Arpaio claimed that such candidates are dodging queries about Obama’s documentation.

On December 5, 2011, Republican Presidential Candidate John Dummett met with Arpaio in the company of his attorney, Van Irion; his campaign manager, William Odom; and his wife Karmi.  Dummett recently told The Post & Email that Arpaio was aware that he was a Republican candidate for President at the time of the meeting.  Following his meeting with Arpaio and the Tea Party group in Arizona, Dummett told us that he was given “devastating” information about Obama’s history prior to the March 1 press conference.

Van Irion is founder of the Liberty Legal Foundation and has filed a lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee in Arizona as well as Tennessee.  A Motion for Preliminary Injunction was served at the Arizona DNC headquarters enjoining the DNC from placing Obama’s name on any state because of the “undisputed” fact of Obama’s foreign-citizen father and citing the case Minor v. Happersett.  Dummett told The Post & Email that the Tennessee case has been directed to the federal level by the state courts but that he and Irion have submitted a motion to move it back into State court.  Dummett said that he believes the courts are “trying to drag their heels.”

Mr. Dummett describes himself as “an expert at the staff level at building databases and dealing with computer-generated documents” and told The Post & Email that he was sure “within five minutes” that the long-form birth certificate released to the public is a forgery.

A resident of California, Dummett has filed a challenge with Secretary of State Debra Bowen which he said applies to “everybody” in regard to presidential eligibility.  “That means me, Gingrich, Obama, whoever…This case is against Debra Bowen to get her to do her job to make sure that candidates are eligible.  In the past, Bowen has said that she has never disqualified anybody based upon Article II “natural born Citizen” clause.  That is not true.  Just this year, candidates Lindsay and Osorio were disqualified just recently by Bowen:  Lindsay for not meeting the age qualification and Osorio for lack of “natural born” citizenship because he was born in Colombia and moved to the U.S. when he was three.”

[Editor’s Note:  Peta Lindsay is a potential candidate for president from the Peace and Freedom Party.  A petition asking that Bowen include her name as a candidate on the ballot does not state that she does not meet the age requirement set forth in Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which is 35 years of age.  In 1968, Eldridge Cleaver, another Peace and Freedom Party presidential candidate, was also disqualified for failing to meet the age requirement in Article II, Section 1.  Yari Osorio is Lindsay’s running mate for Vice President and was born in Colombia.  The Peace and Freedom Party’s Ten-Point Program advocates “a job” and “free health care” as being “constitutional rights” but ignores the requirements to seek the respective offices for which Osorio and Lindsay are declared candidates.]

Dummett is represented by Atty. Gary Kreep in his case against Bowen.  Dummett gave the following example:

When Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor out here in California and Republicans wanted to do what they could to change the Constitution in order to make him eligible to be President of the United States, both he and they knew he was not eligible to run because he was born in Austria.  Everybody knew that he was not eligible to be on the ballot without a constitutional amendment, which we couldn’t get.  What we’ve done is to go after Bowen to make sure that all the eligibility requirements are satisfied and we’re asking for them to define precisely the term “natural born Citizen.”

MRS. RONDEAU:  So she has been paying attention to the “natural born Citizen” requirement of Article II.

MR. DUMMETT:  Not only is she paying attention to it, but she has already disqualified nearly a dozen people based upon Article II.  The only sticking point that we didn’t have any information on was if she had disqualified anybody in the state of California based on the “natural born Citizenship” clause, and she did.  By disqualifying Osorio, she can’t say that she doesn’t understand the term and it’s not her job.  So we have a court, a judge is assigned, but they haven’t set a date.  However I assume that’s going to be rather quick here because time is of the essence.

Ed Noonan is an independent presidential candidate from California also using Gary Kreep in a separate suit coming from a different angle.  He is pursuing the criminal charges against Barack Obama.  Obama’s people got together with Bowen’s people, and they’re trying to combine our two suits into one case.  We know that for a fact.  The attorney who is advising Bowen is one of Barack Obama’s attorneys.

MRS. RONDEAU:  Is that a conflict of interest?

MR. DUMMETT:  Wouldn’t you think?

MRS. RONDEAU:  What can be done about it?

MR. DUMMETT:  Well, what can be done about anything that’s going on anymore these days in this country?  I don’t understand what’s going on with this nation. There’s more than conflict of interest…I don’t really care about Barack Obama.  Right now it’s perfectly clear to me that the fundamental problem in this country is that we’re not adhering to the law, to the Constitution.   All we have to do is trust that, and everything else will take care of itself.  Get the human element out of it and let the Constitution decide this issue, not a judge.  Eventually a judge will have to decide, but he should use the Constitution as the foundation.  Debra Bowen cannot weasel her way out of it by saying, “I’ve never done this before.”

If you look at the Secretary of State’s office in every state, to be a candidate, you have to file a form affirming that you meet the eligibility requirement of the Constitution in order to run for office.  That precisely implies that the SOS is directly involved in enforcement.  They can’t ask you to swear to something if they’re not accountable.  They let you know that right there.  My whole issue is a constitutional issue.  Santorum has dropped out, but Romney hasn’t been forthcoming with his information, either.  He may have eligibility issues himself.

MRS. RONDEAU:  People had questioned Santorum because they weren’t sure about the citizenship of his father, but among public officials, there seems to be a general belief that simply being born in the U.S. makes one a “natural born Citizen.”

MR. DUMMETT:  There are three types of citizens:  a citizen, a naturalized citizen, and a “natural born Citizen.”  What the officials are trying to say is that by coming here from another country and becoming a citizen, that’s enough to be elected to the  presidency of the United States.  But the standard for the president is different than the others.  Therefore, there’s no way that you could be born in another country, come over to this country, and be considered a “natural born Citizen.”  It’s impossible.  We know that there are three different types, and they know it, too.  But they’re trying to parse the truth.  With Bowen disqualifying Osorio because he was born in Colombia, what does that tell you?  If he became a citizen, why can’t he run?

MRS. RONDEAU:  The Secretaries of State and the courts seem to be confusing the 14th Amendment with “natural born Citizen.”

MR. DUMMETT:  Everyone is talking about the 14th Amendment, which dealt only with freed slaves.  It has nothing to do with where they were born.

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Dummett stated that he considers it was a positive development that none of his cases has been dismissed and asserts that he has “standing” as a presidential candidate.  He reported that while some offices of the DNC avoided the process server, all of them were officially served as of last week.  “Those cases are going forward.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said last year, ‘This is what you need to bring a legitimate suit forward  to prove that all presidential candidates are eligible.’  They said that any presidential candidate could challenge another candidate.  My suit is meant to go after all presidential candidates, not just Obama.  My case is a constitutional issue with two points:  to make the Secretary of State qualify people, and the to have “natural born Citizen” defined once and for all.”  Dummett said he does not consider himself a “Birther conspiracy theorist.”

Dummett believes that his case “stands a good chance” of being heard and ruled upon.  “The amount of lawsuits that are mounting against Barack Obama and others have them a little bit worried,” Dummett said.  “We have to make sure that everyone who is running is allowed to.”

Both Dummett’s and Noonan’s lawsuits have been filed in California Superior Court.  Dummett told The Post & Email that he was inspired to file his lawsuit by the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  “What that said to me was, ‘You need to be running for President and then you can bring this issue up on the merits.  The genesis was, ‘What’s the meaning of natural born Citizen?'” Dummett said.

The Post & Email asked Dummett if he believes that members of Congress know the truth about Obama, and he answered, “They all know…Remember Judge Carter?  He was gung-ho, and then two weeks later, he dropped it.  What happened?”  We then asked, “Do you think the truth about Obama will come out before the election?” and he said, “It will be decided before the election.  If it isn’t, they’re going to have to broker the Democratic Convention and have to wonder who they’re going to be putting on the ballot to run against the Republican candidate.”

MRS. RONDEAU:  Do you think he will be able to run again or not?

MR. DUMMETT:  I’m telling you that he’s not going to be running again.  I have the panacea for what’s ailing this country because there is no other way that they can go.  That’s why not a single one of my cases has been dismissed.  I’ve given them the ability for it not to be about a single candidate.  It gives them a way to endorse the Constitution and deal with the issues.  In California, it’s directed at Debra Bowen; in Arizona and Tennessee, it’s directed against the parties and the Secretaries of State.