GOP Congressman Still Doubts Obama Birth Certificate
Cliff Stearns, one of the longest serving Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, said again Tuesday that he is unsure of the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate.
"I am, shall we say, looking at all the evidence," Stearns told reporters.
Stearns made similar claims at a February meeting in his central Florida district, saying, "I've seen a copy of it on television. But you know the governor of Hawaii couldn't get what he felt was an original of the birth certificate. He tried to do it and gave up on it."
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The myth that Obama was not born in the United States has been propagated by fringe groups known as the "birther" movement.
Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1961.
The controversy first arose in 2008 when Obama was running for president. The Hawaii Department of Health held a press conference at the time to show Obama's birth certificate and a copy was posted to his campaign website.
However, the controversy persisted. Obama gave a speech on April 27, 2011 after real estate tycoon and media personality Donald Trump and the Rev. Franklin Graham again raised doubts about Obama's birth certificate. Obama showed his long-form birth certificate, which was released by Hawaii, an unusual move because long-form birth certificates are not generally available to the public. That birth certificate can now be viewed on the White House website.
Stearns currently heads the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and is heading the investigation into the Energy Department's backing of failed solar power company Solyndra.
