Arpaio To Santorum: No Endorsement Until My Probe Of Obama Complete – OpEd

The man known to millions of Americans as “America’s Toughest Sheriff” is being actively courted by GOP presidential candidates, such as Rick Santorum, for his endorsement. But Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff Joe Arpaio claims he wishes to complete his investigation of President Barack Obama before endorsing anyone, according to a statement released on Wednesday.

While being the target of investigations by the Obama Administration — including Attorney General Eric Holder — and being stripped by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano of his authority to enforce immigration law, Sheriff Arpaio received numerous requests from individuals and groups such as the Arizona Tea Party to conduct an investigation of Obama.

Arpaio received criminal complaints requesting that his department fully investigate the President’s birth records and other key information to which the public is denied access.

The popular sheriff said that he wishes to clear up the mess caused by continued doubts that Obama is an American citizen by birth — a requirement to hold the office of President of the United States — before he endorses a GOP candidate for President.

Sheriff Arpaio recently created a special task force of five investigators he dubbed ‘The Cold Case Posse” whose primary assignment is to probe the authenticity of Obama’s birth records.

Arpaio claims the Obama investigation is not about politics but a response to complaints his office has received from concerned Maricopa County residents.

Rachel Alexander, former attorney with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and a friend to the Law Enforcement Examiner, has often praised Arpaio’s crimefighting philosophy and “outside the box” strategies to make Maricopa the safest county in Arizona.

Alexander and Arpaio, have been under attack by Democrats and leftist organizations who regularly make questionable complaints regarding the two admitted conservatives. Alexander is the publisher of the Internet political commentary magazine The Intellectual Conservative.

Sheriff Arpaio describes his “Cold Case Posse” as a posse within a posse, consisting of volunteers with professional experience in law enforcement and criminal investigations. Some of its members are attorneys with experience in criminal or civil cases. The membership of Arpaio’s unique posse includes men and women with specialized training and experience in forensic accounting, crime scene examination, etc.

After receiving complaints from constituents, Arpaio chose five investigators to probe allegations that the Obama birth certificate released by the state of Hawaii is a forgery. The complainants in the case are members of the Surprise Tea Party from the township of Surprise, located within Arpaio’s jurisdiction.

Members of the Arpaio Cold Case Posse who are assigned to the Obama probe are not paid with county money, but the department is raising funds through contributions from the public received by the Cold Case Posse 501(c)3 organization.

The Obama records that were never released include; Passport records, Obama kindergarten records, Punahou School records, Occidental College records, Columbia University records, Columbia thesis, Harvard Law School records, Harvard Law Review articles, University of Chicago scholarly articles, Illinois State Bar Association records, Illinois State Senate records/schedules(said to be lost), medical records, Obama/Dunham marriage license, Obama/Dunham divorce documents, Soetoro/Dunham marriage license, adoption records and of course the long-form Certificate of Live Birth.