Soldier's suit against Obama presidency dismissed

By Alyse Knorr

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A federal judge this morning dismissed a suit filed by a U.S. Army reservist who objected to deployment in Afghanistan because he said he believes Barack Obama was never legally eligible to be the president.

U.S. Army Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook filed a request with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia on July 8 seeking a temporary restraining order and status as a conscientious objector.

Cook believes that Obama was ineligible to become president and commander-in-chief because he is not a natural-born U.S. citizen, the paper reported.

Cook’s orders to report to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida for mobilization Wednesday were revoked, public affairs officer Lt. Col. Maria Quon told the Ledger-Enquirer. She said she could not say why the deployment orders were revoked.

Judge Clay Land sided with the defense, led by Maj. Rebecca Ausprung, who said that because Cook’s deployment orders were revoked, his suit is “moot,” the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported.

Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961, two years after it became a state. Hawaiian state health officials verified Obama’s birth certificate in October.

Cases challenging Obama’s citizenship have been rejected by courts in Ohio, Seattle and Philadelphia, as well as by the Supreme Court.

Temple University law professor Peter Spiro, who specializes in immigration and international law, said that because Obama was born in Hawaii on American soil, he is a citizen and therefore eligible to be president.

Taitz’s 20-page court request stated that Cook “would be acting in violation of international law by engaging in military actions outside the United States under this President’s command. ...simultaneously subjecting himself to possible prosecution as a war criminal by the faithful execution of these duties,” the Ledger-Enquirer reported.

Cook is an Individual Mobilization Augmentee, or a reserve soldier assigned to an active component unit for duty, the paper reported. He submitted a formal written request to Human Resources Command-St. Louis on May 8 volunteering to serve one year in Afghanistan.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.