Sheriff Arpaio Sends Publicly Funded Deputy To Hawaii On 'Birther' Hunt

Sheriff Arpaio Sends Publicly Funded Deputy To Hawaii On 'Birther' Hunt
by Eyder Peralta

It seems there's not a month that goes by that Maricopa (Ariz.) County Sheriff Joe Arpaio isn't involved in one controversy or another.

As we've reported, Arpaio is already facing a federal civil rights lawsuit.

But now there's news that Arpaio is using public money on his quest to investigate President Obama's birth certificate. Both the Arizona Republic and Honolulu Star Advertiser report that Arpaio sent his deputy, Brian Mackiewcz, to Hawaii in part because of what Arpaio said were "security issues," related to the investigation.

The Republic reports:

"'It's one deputy, so what? We have security issues, too, that I can't got into,' Arpaio said on Friday. 'For six months we were not spending any money. When you're doing investigations sometimes things change, you put more resources into it.'" ...

"The detective assigned to the Obama investigation works in the sheriff's threats unit, and continues to work on other cases while assisting with the posse's investigation, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"'He's not going to make any arrests,' Arpaio said. 'I didn't say we're going to keep using him. We're not going to use him constantly. He's not assigned to it. For this trip I feel it's important to have a deputy there. He's just a liaison to give advice if needed. He's not doing anything. The posse's been doing the research. I'm not going to say what other trips they've been taking but they haven't had a deputy with them.'

The Advertiser reported that two men — one of them Mackiewcz — went to the Hawaii Department of Health requesting verification of Obama's birth certificate. The department already issued that certificate at the president's request. They also released a statement in which the Hawaii health director said she had certified the copy.

In a news conference back in March, Arpaio said he had undertaken the investigation of Obama's residency using donations. At that same press conference, Arpaio presented evidence that the birth certificate was "computer generated forgery."

As we noted at the time, some of the evidence was very flimsy.

Hum, I thought, as of yesterday, AZ had this closed.

http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/05/24/obama-birth-certificate-ok-arizona-official

Arpaio's investigation is independent. My interpretation is that he's trying to get revenge for the DOJ investigating his department.

Marconius wrote:Hum, I thought, as of yesterday, AZ had this closed.

http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/05/24/obama-birth-certificate-ok-arizona-official

From the article you posted:

"Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America, had a volunteer posse launch an investigation into the issue, saying in March there was reason to believe Obama's long-form birth certificate is a computer-generated forgery.

Arpaio, known for his hardline stance on illegal immigration, said Wednesday the information given to Bennett's office doesn't dispel his suspicions. He vowed to continue his posse's investigation until Hawaii officials provide microfilm of the original birth certificate or the original document itself."

Bryant wrote:Arpaio's investigation is independent. My interpretation is that he's trying to get revenge for the DOJ investigating his department.

It's a good old fashion pissing contest!!!

I know who's gonna win!!!

Bryant wrote:Arpaio's investigation is independent. My interpretation is that he's trying to get revenge for the DOJ investigating his department.

Most likely. Eric Holder is practically persecuting Arpaio's dept though for adhering to the law. I wouldnt be surprised if he's behind the smear tactics as well as trying to undermine his efforts.

Dennis324 wrote:

Bryant wrote:Arpaio's investigation is independent. My interpretation is that he's trying to get revenge for the DOJ investigating his department.

Most likely. Eric Holder is practically persecuting Arpaio's dept though for adhering to the law. I wouldnt be surprised if he's behind the smear tactics as well as trying to undermine his efforts.

Here is the report from the DOJ detailing the reasons and findings of their investigation. The charges consist of a) systematic discrimination (and in some instances police brutality) toward Hispanic inmates and b) failure to investigate a large number of sex crime reports files by women in Maricopa County.

Bryant wrote:
Arpaio, known for his hardline stance on illegal immigration, said Wednesday the information given to Bennett's office doesn't dispel his suspicions. He vowed to continue his posse's investigation until Hawaii officials provide microfilm of the original birth certificate or the original document itself."

And if they provide this, he won't be satisfied unless there is photo proof of the birth, then it'll be video evidence, and even then there'll be theories that the video is a fake.... For some people there's no such thing as evidence that proves that their pet conspiracy theory is a crock, any evidence can be dismissed as having being faked by "Them".