A medical doctor, LTC Lakin points to the constitutional requirement that a president has to be “a natural born citizen,” something the colonel does not believe Mr. Obama has demonstrated.
Actually inviting a court martial, Lieutenant Colonel Lakin deliberately failed to appear as ordered to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where his unit was readying to deploy to Afghanistan. Reassigned by the Army to the Pentagon while his court martial has been proceeding, he awaits a trial that will begin on October 13 at Fort Meade in northern Virginia. He has been serving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
In his affidavit, General McInerney dwelled on the importance of an unquestionably legitimate chain of command in the military, from the commander in chief of all in the nation’s armed forces all the way down to anyone who issues orders. He stated: “In refusing to obey orders because of his doubts as to their legality, LTC Lakin has acted as proper training dictates.” Calling the medical doctor’s challenge “absolutely essential” to determining whether Barack Obama’s “service as Commander in Chief is Constitutionally proper,” he praised Lakin for “the courage of his convictions and his bravery.”
Certainly aware of the momentous consequences suggested by LTC Lakin’s challenge, General McInerney asserted that removal of doubt about Mr. Obama’s legitimacy to serve “is fundamental to our Republic, where civilian control over the military is the rule.” He stated that President Obama “must either voluntarily establish his eligibility by authorizing release of his birth records or this court must authorize their discovery.”
LTC Lakin will be defended by both military and civilian attorneys and is being supported by the DC-based American Patriot Foundation.
