Judge removes 'birther' elements from Army doc's court martial

President Obama's birth certificate was deemed authentic. The announcement appeared in print in 1961. (credit: State of Hawaii0


Judge removes 'birther' elements from Army doc's court martial
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 2, 2010 6:18 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- A judge on Thursday denied a request for President Barack Obama to testify at a court martial for a U.S. Army flight surgeon who refused to deploy to Afghanistan until he saw proof that Obama was born in the United States.

The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, said any evidence or witnesses related to Obama's citizenship is irrelevant to the charges against Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, who has 17 years of service in the U.S. military.

After failing to deploy with his unit in April, Lakin was charged with missing a movement, disobeying a lawful order and dereliction of duty.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice says the maximum punishment for both offenses -- missing his plane and disobeying lawful orders -- is a dishonorable discharge and up to two years in confinement. A guilty verdict could also result in forfeiture of Lakin's pay, which totals $7,959 a month, according to a charge sheet provided by a group sponsoring his defense.

Lakin's lawyers argued that all military orders stem from the commander-in-chief. Without evidence that Obama is eligible to be president, they say, the doctor's deployment order was illegal.

Well, they couldn't get me on that one. Regular like a clock.