# Sheriff Joe Arpaio says President Obama's birth certificate may be a fake **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 1, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492 "2012-03-01T22:23:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/1 "2012-03-01T22:23:25Z")
I shit you not. [ > [@](#): > > “Based on all of the evidence, I cannot in good faith report to you these documents are authentic,” Arpaio said at a press conference in Phoenix, adding that his “investigators believe that the long form birth certificate was manufactured electronically and that it did not originate in the paper format as presented by the White House.” ]([http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544\_162-57388911-503544/sheriff-joe-arpaio-suggests-obamas-birth-certificate-is-a-forgery/](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57388911-503544/sheriff-joe-arpaio-suggests-obamas-birth-certificate-is-a-forgery/)) This just happened abut 40 minutes ago, so the AP hasn’t picked it up yet AFAIK, but I’m sure this will have conservatives up in arms, coming as it does on the heels of Andrew Breitbart’s death. I’d put this in GD, but I don’t really think there’s much to debate except for just how big an asshole Arpaio is, or exactly how deluded the right wing has become. And with this fuel for their fire, I’m fairly sure they’ll be burning bright and hot for weeks (if not months) to come. [ > [@](#): > > Mike Zullo, the lead investigator for Arpaio, on Thursday presented a series of videos that he said showed that the president’s documents were likely forgeries. He suggested the investigation showed that Mr. Obama’s long-form birth certificate, which was released electronically, “never existed in paper form,” and said the evidence had led him to recommend to Arpaio “a full-blown criminal investigation.” > > Zullo also said his team came to the conclusion that the Hawaii Department of Health and Hawaiian officials “may have intentionally obscured 1961 birth records and procedures” to keep them from being adequately examined. ]([http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544\_162-57388911-503544/sheriff-joe-arpaio-suggests-obamas-birth-certificate-is-a-forgery/](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57388911-503544/sheriff-joe-arpaio-suggests-obamas-birth-certificate-is-a-forgery/)) ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/2 "2012-03-01T22:28:34Z")
I can’t tell you how surprising I find this, nor how much faith I had in Arpaio’s judgment and probity before I read this. ---
**Author:** ![AHarris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@AHarris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHarris)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/3 "2012-03-01T22:31:50Z")
Isn’t it a little late to be starting a presidential campaign? Or is he getting ready for 2016 (when the issue will be moot either way)? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/4 "2012-03-01T22:32:33Z")
I wish the media and everybody else would just ignore that attention-whoring moron. Leave him to the people who keep electing/appointing(?) him, and stop infecting the rest of us with his existence. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/5 "2012-03-01T22:36:33Z")
This is an already circulating conspiracy theory. Magiver believed it and I did my best to make him look like an idiot here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14355407&postcount=211](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14355407&postcount=211) ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/6 "2012-03-01T22:38:15Z")
If this Zullo character is being paid with taxpayer money to “investigate” this, how in the world do they justify it? Isn’t DC a bit out of Arpaio’s jurisdiction? And whatever happened to Donald Trump’s team of crack investigators? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/7 "2012-03-01T22:39:57Z")
I didn’t know Donald Trump moonlit as a sheriff. But I thought he’d given up this whole investigation nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/8 "2012-03-01T22:56:27Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > If this Zullo character is being paid with taxpayer money to “investigate” this, how in the world do they justify it? Isn’t DC a bit out of Arpaio’s jurisdiction? Well, anyone can investigate anything they want to. And the mouthbreathers who continue to elect Arpaio have made clear, time and again, that his stupidity, his dictatorial arrogance, and his disregard for people’s rights, are not really much of a concern to them. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/9 "2012-03-01T23:06:53Z")
Seriously, has anyone ever requested Joe Arpaio’s birth certificate? I bet it says “Certificate of Live Birth” at the top and was manufactured electronically. That man is such an idiot, I don’t know why I waste my time on this thread…except that other people apparently agree with him, and some of them vote. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/10 "2012-03-01T23:08:37Z")
Does Maricopa County have any real crimes this guy should be investigating? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/11 "2012-03-01T23:22:08Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Does Maricopa County have any real crimes this guy should be investigating? Funny you should mention that. He’s under investigation for failing to properly investigate literally [hundreds of potential cases of child abuse](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-12-29/news/ct-oped-1229-sanchez-20111229_1_police-department-civil-rights-violations-assistant-police). What’s worse is that instead of investigating, those officers were off literally silencing critics and racially profiling Hispanics. Maybe Maricopa county is stupid enough to keep electing the guy, but he may have crossed a legal line from which there is no return. But, of course, it’s all a conspiracy on the part of Democrats to sully his name. Asshat. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/12 "2012-03-01T23:30:27Z")
Did Arpaio’s investigators somehow get access to the original, paper birth certificate, or did they only examine the electronic version that was released? And then, after six months of diligent research, announced that it was electronically generated. My God, this could blow the whole case wide open! ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/13 "2012-03-01T23:35:17Z")
All I can say is I vote straight Democrat. But in Maricopa that doesn’t mean much. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/14 "2012-03-01T23:40:34Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > And whatever happened to Donald Trump’s team of crack investigators? They investigated, and they found the crack. Haven’t been heard from since. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/15 "2012-03-01T23:42:38Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Seriously, has anyone ever requested Joe Arpaio’s birth certificate? Thank you, I prefer to cling to the illusion that there is none because he’s an ET or something, and not related to us. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/16 "2012-03-01T23:44:05Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > This is an already circulating conspiracy theory. Magiver believed it and I did my best to make him look like an idiot here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14355407&postcount=211](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14355407&postcount=211) You succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/17 "2012-03-01T23:44:50Z")
Did he figure out how they knew that the baby would one day be president and they snuck in a birth notice into the newspaper there? The kind of birth notice the hospital releases to the newspaper. If Bush had such competent conspirators we would have found WMDs. ---
**Author:** ![spankthecrumpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@spankthecrumpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankthecrumpet)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/18 "2012-03-01T23:46:32Z")
How sad for your country that a presumably savvy elected official can consider this a sensible political tactic ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/19 "2012-03-01T23:46:46Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > You succeeded. **Lobohan** went above and beyond what was necessary. Just letting him talk would have been sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492/20 "2012-03-01T23:47:06Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > All I can say is I vote straight Democrat. I’m surprised you’d vote _straight_ Democrat, there in Maricón County. ( . . . What? . . . It isn’t? . . . The name is what? . . . Tremendously offensive? . . . Oh. Yikes. Never mind.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-joe-arpaio-says-president-obamas-birth-certificate-may-be-a-fake/614492.md?page=2)