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August 22, 2008

Wingnuts away! Phillip J. Berg- a crackpot and his lawsuit!

(UPDATE - 10 November 2008) There have been a lot of people posting to this article since mid October. Rather than reinvent the wheel, let me answer some frequently asked comments:

1) The State of Hawaii has confirmed they hold a valid copy of President-elect Obama's birth certificate in their files.

2) If you look at the pictures FactCheck posted, you will clearly see an official embossed seal from the state of Hawaii and a date stamp.

3) In the lawsuits where Sen. McCain's citizenship was challenged, the lawsuits were dismissed without Sen. McCain submitting a certified copy of his birth certificate into the court record.

4) Berg cites the Nationality Act of 1940, Section 317(b) to support his claim that Stanley Ann Durham lost her US citizenship as a result of marrying Lolo Soetoro and moving to Indonesia. In reality, the Nationality Act of 1940, Section 317(b) says:
"From and after the effective date of this Act, a woman, who was a citizen of the United States at birth, and who has or is believed to have lost her United States citizenship solely by reason of her marriage prior to September 22, 1922, to an alien, and whose marital status with such alien has or shall have terminated, if no other nationality was acquired by affirmative act other than such marriage,shall, from and after the taking of the oath of allegiance prescribed by subsection (b) of section 335 of this Act, be deemed to be a citizen of the United States to the same extent as though her marriage to said alien had taken place on or after September 22, 1922"
In other words, that section applies if the US citizen married the foreign national before 1922. Berg says that Stanley Ann Durham married Lolo Soetoro in 1967, 45 years after the cutoff. Therefore, this law does not apply to the Dunham-Soetoro marriage, and Stanley Ann Dunham retained her US citizenship after marriage in the eyes of US law, which is what applies in this case.

5) Berg cites the Nationality Act of 1940, Sections 401 and 407, to claim that Stanley Ann Dunham's marriage to Lolo Soetoro also resulted in Barack Obama losing his US citizenship. This is also incorrect. Section 401 states:
“A person who is a national of the United States, whether by birth or naturalization, shall lose his nationality by: (a) Obtaining naturalization in a foreign state, either upon his own application or through the naturalization of a parent having legal custody of such person: Provided, however, That nationality not be lost as the result of the naturalization of a parent unless and until the child shall have attained the age of twenty-three years without acquiring permanent residence in the United States:........"
Section 407 states:
“A person having American nationality, who is a minor and is residing in a foreign state with or under the legal custody of a parent who loses American nationality under section 404 of this Act, shall at the same time lose his American nationality if such minor has or acquires the nationality of such foreign state: Provided, That, in such case, American nationality shall not be lost as the result of loss of American nationality by the parent unless and until the child attains the age of twenty-three years without having acquired permanent residence in the United States.
In addition, these provisions were amended by the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, Title III, Chapter 3, which would have been in effect when Barack Obama moved to Indonesia and later returned to the US. Section 349(a) states:
“From and after the effective date of this Act a person who is a national of the United States whether by birth or naturalization, shall lose his nationality by -- (1) obtaining naturalization in a foreign state upon his own application, upon an application filed in his behalf by a parent, or duly authorized agent, or through the naturalization of a parent having legal custody of such person: Provided, That nationality shall not be lost by any person under this section as the result of the naturalization of a parent or parents while such person is under the age of twenty-one years, or as the result of naturalization obtained on behalf of a person under twenty-one years of age by a parent, guardian, or duly authorized agent, unless such person shall fail to enter the United States to establish a permanent residence prior to his twenty-fifth birthday: ....
Section 355 states:
“A person having United States nationality, who is under the age of twenty-one and whose residence is in a foreign state with or under the legal custody of a parent who hereafter loses United States nationality under section 350 or 352 of this title, shall also lose his United States nationality if such person has or acquires the nationality of such foreign state: Provided, That, in such case, United States nationality shall not be lost as the result of loss of United States nationality by the parent unless and until the person attains the age of twenty-five years without having established his residence in the United States.”
The law in this case is very clear, and actually shows Berg to be incorrect in his belief.

6) Since President-elect Obama never lost his US citizenship, there was never any need for him to become naturalized or take an oath of citizenship, since such things are not required of native-born US citizens.

Hopefully this answers the many repeats of the same question that has been posted over and over and over again.)
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Yesterday brought a new wrinkle to the massive pot o' crazy that is the Cult of the COLB.    Namely Phillip J. Berg's federal lawsuit against Sen. Obama and the DNC.    (Case number 08-CV-4083)

The whole ball of wax is over at Mr. Berg's site, "Obamacrimes", including PDF files of the lawsuit, press releases, etc.    I am not a lawyer, but has near as I can tell, I'd be VERY surprised if this wasn't laughed out of court.

For starters, a lot of it seems lifted from "Judah Benjamin's", "TexasDarlin", and other claims of the cult of the COLB.    Among other wingnuttery:

From the Memorandum in support of temporary restraining order, he:

Claims Sen. Obama was born in Kenya and that his mother was prohibited from flying back to Hawaii due to the stage of pregnancy she was in. 

Andy Martin's claim that Sen. Obama never renounced Kenyan citizenship.

The claim that if he was born in Kenya, his mother was too young to grant citizenship on him, (this has been used on him in the past)

Supposed loss of citizenship when his mother married Lolo Soetoro and "took his citizenship"(Note, marrying a foreign national doesn't automatically lose one their US citizenship, unless the person getting married applies for citizenship in that country. There's no evidence Stanley Ann Dunham did such - and in any case, Barack Obama wouldn't have lost HIS citizenship due to his mother's marriage.)

Claim that Sen. Obama traveled to Pakistan on an Indonesian passport

Claim that "three (3) independent document forensic experts have performed extensive forensic testing on the Certificate of Live Birth posted on Obama’s campaign website. The forensic experts’ findings were the Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) is in fact a forgery."  ("Polarik", "TechDude", and who?? And why does he think the court will take the allegations of people who claim to be such without anything like proof of identity?)

Claim that the "forged" COLB had Maya Soetoro's name on it.  (YES!!   He's actually citing "TechDude's" claims!!!!    Not even "TexasDarlin" is using THAT one!!)

Claim that multiple citizenships disqualifies one from holding the office of President  (Pure "Judah Benjamin" that one.)

He later makes the claim that: "As stated above, Plaintiff as well as tens of millions of American voters, Democrats and persons disinclined to vote for the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party, Senator McCain, will suffer irreparable harm, if declaratory and injunctive relief is not granted. Plaintiff does not have any other way of redress regarding these very significant and important issues."

It's a complete distillation of every claim the Cult of the COLB has ever made, in bite sized legal form.

What gets me, (AGAIN) is that he's actually citing "TechDude's" claims! He actually cites "TechDude's" claim of finding Maya Soetoro's name on the COLB as EVIDENCE!!

From his Memorandum in support of temporary restraining order

"...However, as posted all over the internet three (3) independent document forensic experts have performed extensive forensic testing on the Certificate of Live Birth posted on Obama’s campaign website. The forensic experts’ findings were the Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) is in fact a forgery.

It was further discovered that the original Certificate of Live Birth which had been altered and forged was issued to Maya Kasandra Soetoro, born in 1970. Maya Kasandra Soetoro is Obama’s half-sister, who was born in Indonesia, and her birth was later registered in Hawaii. The altered and forged COLB is still on Obama’s campaign website..."

It's also paragraph 35 of the complaint

AND paragraph 9 of the motion for Temporary Restraining Order

So who is Philip J. Berg?    He's a former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania; former candidate for Governor and U.S. Senate in Democratic Primaries; former Chair of the Democratic Party in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; former member of the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee; an attorney with offices in Montgomery County, PA and an active practice in Philadelphia, PA.     In 2005 he was fined and sanctioned $10,000 for having committed a "laundry list of unethical actions."

""Other attorneys should look to Mr. Berg's actions as a blueprint for what not to do when attempting to effectively and honorably perform the duties of the legal profession," Joyner wrote.

"This court has grown weary of Mr. Berg's continuous and brazen disrespect toward this court and his own clients. Mr. Berg's actions ... are an enormous waste of judicial time and resources that this court cannot, in good conscience, allow to go unpunished," Joyner wrote."

He's also a 9/11 "truther" and Clinton "supporter" who has been making weird claims and demands against Sen. Obama for a while.   Such as:

25 March - Mr. Berg posted a letter demanding that Sen. Obama drop out of the race due to "Association With Reverend Wright".   

"Please, do the right thing for the Democratic Party and our country that you say you love so much and withdraw your candidacy for President. It is the right thing to do !"


28 June - he posted a press release about the on-line petition to demand the superdelegates "Nominate the Candidate that can Win in November 2008 - Hillary Clinton", which includes a laundry list of PUMA/JSND slurs and favourite targets.    

"The essence of the Petition is that Obama is not the person he has portrayed to the electorate; a candidate without depth or experience; one with associations with questionable persons; one whose gaffes are numerous and embarrassing; one whose platform leaves a lot to be desired; and credibility is an issue with his recent "Flip-Flops;" and his wife has raised issues that are a real concern. 

The Democrats can only win in November 2008 with Hillary Clinton, a dynamic leader who has been totally vetted; who won the majority of popular vote and won the big states. "


6 August - He signed the on-line petition by "conservative libertarian" Mitchell Langbert demanding the FEC investigate Sen. Obama's birth certificate and citizenship, (signature #5450, "Obama must be "vetted" before the DNC in Denver. Obama is not qualified to be President and therefore, the DNC should nominate HILLARY CLINTON").

I think one can argue that Mr. Berg is a bit....unhinged about Sen. Obama.

22 August - According to reports on the right-wing blog "America's Right", the motion for a temporary restraining order was denied by Judge R. Barclay Surrick.    Since the Cult of the COLB will claim any action taken by the judge against this suit will show someone "friendly to Obama", I would like to point out that Judge R. Barclay Surrick was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton on 11 April 2000.     The even more funny thing about this??     "TexasDarlin's" bestest friends over at "Atlas Shrugs" claim that it's part of a plot by the "Clintonostra" to take the nomination from Sen. Obama.    Am I the only one who finds it.....interesting....that a supposed Clinton supporter like "TexasDarlin" is siting and posting on an anti-Clinton right-wing board??

It's obvious what this is.    A last-ditch effort by the Cult of the COLB to try to find anything, ANYTHING they can stick on Sen. Obama.    And the right-wing "help" they're getting on it is blindingly obvious now.     Mr. Berg has a reputation ethics violations and making very outrageous claims.    Curiously enough, much like another PUMA favourite, Andy Martin.   Who has a reputation as being a "vexatious litigant" by numerous federal and state courts and is under injunction and sanction in several of those courts.    Birds of a feather I suppose.

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I believe this website is put up by Cristi Adkins, the HTML code is almost identical, and it and C4M use Joomla.

And download the PDF files and look at the author.

That said, it looks like a fraud. Anyone find this on Pacer?

Oh, one more thing, who is Geoff? Look at the bottom of some of the pages.


Appropos of nothing in particular, I wonder what Hunter S. Thompson would make of Darragh Murphy, Chucky's Daughter and the rest of the Pumas.

It's a shame he bumped himself off. It would be a riot to read his take on these folks.

TRO DENIED - See http://www.americasright.com/2008/08/update-on-berg-v-obama-lawsuit.html

Next PUMA prowl: Raise money to send TechDude to PA, to show the judge his wicked awesome forensic proof!

C'mon, PUMAs! ROAR!! and what have you...

The TRO is denied- what now?

"Geoff" is probably the typist or the clerk, since it's a Windows desktop User folder. However, it is quite possibly Texas Darlin's real first name, or a reference to "Geoffrey," the six-foot rabbit "pooka" who is claimed to have accompanied Obama on his youthful journey to the al Qaeda/Spectre indoctrination center in Pakistan.

anti-Rocinante - I don't have PACER access. The case number is 08-CV-4083.

And very interesting about the PDF info. All but the press release has the same title: "To: Souderton Area School Board June 5, 2006", the same author: "Barbara May", and were all done on OpenOffice. The press release has the title: "Draft – not for release", "PJB" as the author, and shows Corel PDF Engine as the creator.

Souderton is in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where Phillip J. Berg has a law office. "Geoff" might be a user or paralegal in that firm based on the path name on those PDFs.

Christina - The case can go forward, but no temporary hold has been granted. Since I suspect the TRO was to shut down the ability for Sen. Obama to accept the nomination, that means the first arrow has missed the target.

The funny thing is now Mr. Berg has to prove his claims. Which means he would have to call our favourite cast of characters up - and they can't hide behind screen names either. "Polarik" and "TechDude" would HAVE to prove their experience and training in the fields they claim to be experts in as well.

You think that's gonna happen anytime soon?

Christina -- I assume the Defendants will be notified, and will file a Motion for Summary Dismissal on the basis of lack of standing, improper jurisdiction or failure to produce a prima facie case for any of Berg's claims. I could be wrong, but this thing is pretty thin soup. It's entirely based on conjecture, and the unsworn testimony of unidentified "experts."

If this didn't concern a candidate for US President, the judge would simply have pressed the button on his desk that opens a trap door in the floor.

Christina, you mean AFTER the judge got up off the floor after falling off his chair laughing, wiping his brow, replacing his glasses and saying "you mean you're serious?" Berg has to get service on all parties, tricky in and of itself, there are very specific rules how each entity is to be served (whether an individual or a group, organization or whatever). Once that happens the parties have 30 days to respond to the lawsuit, however they can always get an extension of time (which is standard practice), the army of lawyers that will be working on this will no doubt respond with a Motion to Dismiss prior to filing any answer to the specific allegations of the complaint. There will then need to be a hearing on the motion to dismiss (or it may just be done by way of memorandums of law from either side). My guess is that this will not survive a motion to dismiss and even if it does it will not survive a motion for summary judgment. In any event if this goes the way of most Federal lawsuits nothing is going to happen for at least two months or more (depending on when the date of service is on each of the parties). Then after the motion to dismiss is filed, probably another two months before the Judge rules on it (or faster if he views the whole case as frivilous), in any event it won't go to trial (if it ever does) until Barack is already occupying the oval office. (Perhaps Ames can back me up on this)

Hahaha, you mean in order for this to "seriously" continue, Polarik and Techdude have to come out with their REAL names?? Awesome! I hope this continues!

"Hahaha, you mean in order for this to "seriously" continue, Polarik and Techdude have to come out with their REAL names?? Awesome! I hope this continues!"

Christina - that is EXACTLY what must happen if Mr. Berg wants their "reports" to be accepted in court. They have to prove their bona fides, show the process that they came to their conclusions, and back up each step of the process. In short, they have to prove they are who they say they are and stake their professional reputations on their results.

And there's a real chance that "TexasDarlin" and "Judah Benjamin" would also be called up to be questioned about the other claims they've made as well.

Christina -- It's true. You can wave a bullshit motion at a judge on "Law & Order" and get a preliminary injunction, but this is going to require something more compelling than the MySpace comments of "BallBuster537" and "AnalIntruder." If this ever made its way to an actual proceeding, Mr. Berg would have to identify his "experts" and produce their qualifications.

Citing the Italian version of Wikipedia and "reports on the Internet" as authoritative reference do not help Mr. Berg, although I grant him style points for giving it a shot.

"Dear Judge Wapner,

I think Obama is a fakey fake Mooslim mantrarian candident. Please make him stop so Hilarie can be the Presamint. See Texas Danglin's blog for all the deetales.

Jeff Berg, Exquire (that means loyer but you prolly knew that already. lolz!)

P.S. - Obama's wife might be a Commonalist. You should look at her record and rest her for phelonese. ipso farto, my brother! JB"

Wait -- we're in trouble. PUMApac wants to flood the judge with emails pleading with him to do "the right thing" for Democracy. Apparently, they have all seen "Miracle on 34th Street," and are hoping to invoke the "Kris Kringle" rule, which awards judgment on the basis of large sacks of misdirected children's letters requesting gifts.

Rules of Evidence 702

Rule 702. Testimony by Experts

If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.

One of the numerous notes to Rule 702 states:

Daubert set forth a non-exclusive checklist for trial courts to use in assessing the reliability of scientific expert testimony. The specific factors explicated by the Daubert Court are (1) whether the expert's technique or theory can be or has been tested - that is, whether the expert's theory can be challenged in some objective sense, or whether it is instead simply a subjective, conclusory approach that cannot reasonably be assessed for reliability; (2) whether the technique or theory has been subject to peer review and publication; (3) the known or potential rate of error of the technique or theory when applied; (4) the existence and maintenance of standards and controls; and (5) whether the technique or theory has been generally accepted in the scientific community. The Court in Kumho held that these factors might also be applicable in assessing the reliability of nonscientific expert testimony, depending upon ''the particular circumstances of the particular case at issue.'' 119 S.Ct. at 1175.

This of course would all depend on whether or not any of these lunatics would even qualify to testify as an expert witness to begin with. Knowing the Federal Rules of Evidence my guess will be NOT!

http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/ACRule702.htm


I see Mr. Berg is already encouraging contributions at his site. I think this is a man who understands the concept of a low-investment cottage industry with decent potential returns.

Hmmm...lawyer's name is Phillip J. Berg, and Larry C. Johnson's company is called B.E.R.G. Associates. Tin foil, anyone?

This just appeared over at PUMApac:

Attorney Philip J. Berg, who filed a restraining order/injuction against Obama and the DNC until they could PROVE his citizenship, will be appearing
tonight at 10 PM on Coast to Coast AM, KNXT 840 AM in Las Vegas, NV, with

OPEN PHONE LINES TO FOLLOW.

How did I know this guy would end up at UFO Central?

I'll gladly have that hat.

Unless the attorney's full name is Philip J. Business Exposure Reduction Group, then I think it's a long shot.

By the same token, MANY of the Business Exposure Reduction Groups shortened their name to "Berg" at Ellis Island.

Obama's mother's original Social Security Number Application

webofdeception.com/obamamother'sssapplication.html

Simple idea: Obama should just provide his proof of citizenship. Case dismissed! Can anyone tell me the down side to that?

"Joe Plummer" - Easy - he *has*. He's posted a birth certificate certified by the state of Hawaii as legitimate. He also has a valid US passport, which shows he's had to at least once prove his citizenship to the satisfaction of the US State Department.

Berg doesn't *want* just the birth certificate. He's now asking for college records, which have nothing to do with citizenship, and documents that no natural-born US citizen would ever have.

At this point, there is no proof that the cult of the COLB will accept, their minds are made up, don't confuse them with facts.

If there is some question of his birth Certificate being legal, what is the issue? If you wanted to see John McCains college transcripts he would show them.

For some reason, Obama doesnt think that people have a right to see these things..although, he is applying for a job with us.

Searching - Again, the State of Hawaii has (repeatedly) confirmed the Certificate of Live Birth posted on his website *is* authentic.

He's shown it. There are people who refuse to believe it.

Not defending Berg, but if Obama was not actually born in Hawaii then he's not a natural-born US citizen, right? It has nothing to do with his mother's age.

So while if it's been checked before then it seems silly, however a document appearing on privately run websites is not enough to satisfy a court decision. Has any official from Hawaii gone on record and said they have actually checked or is it just "the State of Hawaii" that agrees with it? Seems like Obama should just show it to get the lawsuit settled.

Why in the world would anyone spend a dollar on legal fees when all that's necessary is to provide your authentic birth certificate? It makes no sense. Frankly I would be proud to wave the proof of my United States citizenship for anyone to see!

(My goodness there suddenly seems to be a lot of posts to an article I wrote in August. It's almost like someplace is spamming or astroturfing it......)

Again, He's posted a birth certificate certified by the state of Hawaii as legitimate. He also has a valid US passport, which shows he's had to at least once prove his citizenship to the satisfaction of the US State Department.

Berg doesn't *want* just the birth certificate. He's now asking for college records, which have nothing to do with citizenship, and documents that no natural-born US citizen would ever have.

At this point, there is no proof that the cult of the COLB will accept, their minds are made up, don't confuse them with facts.

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