September 8th, 2009, 1:20 pm · posted by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
Updated at 3:55 p.m.
In the federal lawsuit claiming that Barack Obama cannot legitimately be president, today’s hearing in Santa Ana focused not on documents that allegedly prove he was Kenyan-born but on the conflicts of plaintiff’s attorney Orly Taitz.
Judge David O. Carter dismissed Taitz’s motion to have two of her clients removed from the case and also tossed her motion to have Magistrate Judge Arthur Nakazato removed from the case. Carter said there was no basis in Taitz’s complaint that Nakazato was biased against her in an earlier administrative ruling.
Additional, Carter told Taitz that she had no choice but to work with Gary Kreep, the attorney now representing the two clients Taitz wanted removed from the case. Taitz had said she would not work with Kreep because of past conflicts between the two, and because they viewed the case differently.
Carter set tentative dates for other pre-trial matters and said that if the case isn’t resolved before then, a trial will begin on Jan. 26.
While it was a rough patch for Taitz this morning, she has her supporters. About 100 backers were on hand in the Santa Ana federal courthouse’s ninth-floor corridor when she showed up a little after 8 a.m. They offered a round of applause as she made her way to Carter’s courtroom.
When Carter finally got to her suit at 11 a.m., he started by thanking her for finally get her complaint properly filed, saying the process “seems never ending.”
Carter repeated said he was eager to get the matter settled.
“If President Obama fits the qualifications under the rules of the court, the longer the delay the more credibility it lends to the complaint,” he said. “If President Obama does not meet the court’s requirements, the delay also causes a problem.”
The most immediate delay concerning Carter involved the conflict between Taitz and Kreep. Taitz wanted Kreep to file his own case and stay out of her way. Carter said that even if there were separate cases filed, they would likely be joined together at the request of the the defendents’ attorney, with the end results of simply slowing the process down.
“Why can’t the two of you work out the disagreements you have?” Carter said. “Do each of you want the spotlight? … You are about to cause a tremendous delay because of your bickering.”
Carter then called a 15-minute recess, and directed Kreep and Taitz to step into the hall and figure out a way to work together. Kreep went into the recess agreeing to work with Taitz and returned with the same position. But, “Ms. Taitz said there is no way she will work with me,” Kreep told Carter when proceedings resumed.
Carter said that was not acceptable.
“This is a personal dispute. You two are going the have to work it out,” he said. “The country is ill-served by excessive delay.”
Taitz and Kreep previously joined forced in a lawsuit that unsuccessfully attempted to halt Secretary of State Debra Bowen from submitting Obama’s electoral votes from California. That’s the case the caused the bad blood between them.
As for their different approaches to the case, Taitz believes the constitution - while not saying so explicitly - intended to require presidents to not only be U.S. born but to be the offspring of two U.S. citizens. Kreep wants to focus solely on the issue of Obama being born abroad.
Motion for dismissal
Carter also told Taitz that he like to keep the lawsuit focused narrowly on the issue of Obama’s qualifications for president and asked her to considered removing Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates and Joe Biden as co-defendants.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger West says in his motion for dismissal that none of the four are clearly accused of wrongdoing.
But the primary thrust of that motion, scheduled to be heard by Carter on Oct. 5, is that the issue of whether or not Obama meets the citizenship requirements to be president is a matter for Congress and the Electoral College to decide - not the courts.
During this morning’s proceedings, Carter said he had not yet read the motion to dismiss the case. But he said such motions, when based on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12 (b), rarely succeed. That is the rule cited by West in his motion.
Surprise witness
This morning, Taitz also tried to introduce a surprise witness - I believe it was the person who produced the Obama’s Kenyan alleged birth certificate (see first link below, which includes a photo of the document filed Friday).
Taitz said the man’s life was in danger and so testimony should be taken immediately to guarantee that the opportunity to interview him was not lost.
Carter wasn’t biting, especially since it was not a hearing to take testimony.
“I don’t intend to hear witnesses on the fly,” he said. “I don’t intend to hear witnesses without of (advance) notification of the other party.”
Even Kreep said Taitz was out of line with the request.
“You can’t just bring people to court and then expect them to be allowed to testify,” he said. “I think Dr. Taitz means well. … We need to proceed professionally.”
Here are some related stories - starting with my rundown of Taitz’s Friday filing of what she claims is Obama’s Kenyan birth certificate (this is different that the birth registration she previously filed and was called a forgery by experts).
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COMMENTS FROM GIVE US LIBERTY: First it's not an Obama birthplace lawsuit...it's a constitutional eligibilty issue to be POTUS lawsuit. Nevertheless, great to see the Orange County Register covering the hearing. MSM was woefully absent.
I expect to see an increased media presence at the next hearing. As our devoted followers know, GUL was there providing reports throughout the day. In fact to the best of our knowledge we had accounts of the proceedings and the judge's rulings up on the internet before anyone else. We beat World Net Daily by 1 hr and 12 mins! We are pleased to announce that we will be covering the October 5 hearing...providing updated reports throughout the day in addition to post-hearing photographs.
GUL was surprised however, that the OC reporter did not know or recognize that Orly's "surprise" witness was in fact Lucas Smith, who has claimed that he obtained a copy of Obama's birth certificate from Kenyan officials in February. For some time, Smith actually was accepting bids on E-Bay.
Smith had just flown in from Kenya. Smith purportedly paid off some Kenyan officials to get the "certified" copy and Taitz was concerned for his safety and thus wanted to preserve his testimony now. She pleaded with Judge Carter to allow her to depose Smith immediately.
Lucas Smith reads a prepared statement after Sept. 8 eligibility hearing in Santa Ana, CA. California based attorney, Orly Taitz looks on. Ms. Taitz received the green light from the court to move forward with her case to determine whether "Barack Obama" is constitutionally qualified to be POTUS. A trial date of Jan. 26, 2010 has been tentatively set by Federal District Court Judge David O. Carter.
Judge Carter indicated that he was not inclined to depose a surprise witness on short notice, citing the fact that it ususually is not fair to the other party (the U.S. govt. in this case). He was not upset in any way and did not chastise Ms.Ttaitz. She did an admirable job explaining her concerns. Judge Carter listened carefully. Even though Judge Carter tipped his hand to some extent, he did challenge Mr. West as to why the government was opposed to hearing Smith testify on the spot. In fact, Judge Carter offered a bone to the government saying that it would give them an insight into Ms. Taitz' theory of the case if Smith were to testify right now. Mr. West did not bite saying that the government "objects". This brought a few understanding snickers from the proTaitz gallery of about 20 people. Yes 20 people is all they allowed in to see the proceedings LIVE. The overflow of approximately 100 observed the proceedings by live video feed in Judge Carter's courtroom down the hall.
Following the hearing, many people gathered outside the imposing courthouse on 4th Street to listen to Orly Taitaz and others make statements and be interviewed. Virtually everyone that hung around believe that Obama is an usurper and not constitutionally qualified to be POTUS.
One passer-by...an apparent Hispanic woman walked by and yelled to the group..."You are all racist idiots!" Hmmmmmmmmm.
Here are some of the links to related stories as indicated by the OC Register reporter above.
Obama’s Kenyan birth certificate alleged in O.C. lawsuit
Hawaii’s chief public health officer confirms Obama’s birth there
Annenberg Public Policy Institute investigates Obama U.S. birth documents, determine them to be authentic
Obama’s birth registration called a forgery by experts
Paperwork tangles O.C. suit against Obama
O.C. attorney suing Obama wants judge thrown out
Two plaintiffs dump lawyer Taitz in O.C. suit against Obama
Claim of Obama’s Kenya birth record thrown out
Poll: 23% of Americans unsure Obama born here
An election for President and Commander in Chief of the Military must strive to be above reproach. Our public institutions must give the public confidence that a presidential candidate has complied with the election process that is prescribed by our Constitution and laws. It is only after a presidential candidate satisfies the rules of such a process that he/she can expect members of the public, regardless of their party affiliations, to give him/her the respect that the Office of President so much deserves.
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