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UPDATED 8/13/09. 10:11AM
LINCONTON U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry this morning clarified remarks he made at a town hall forum in Lincolnton Wednesday night indicating he was unconvinced that President Obama is a U.S. citizen.
During a three-hour question-and-answer session, primarily on health-care reform, Lincolnton resident Alan Hoyle asked if McHenry thinks Obama is a citizen. McHenry declined to affirm Obama's citizenship, instead saying: I haven't seen evidence one way or the other.
McHenry also said the issue is being addressed in the courts.
Said McHenry in a statement this morning: As I stated last night, I have not carefully reviewed the evidence as a jurist would. However, from what I have read, I have absolutely no reason to question President Obama's citizenship. I anticipate that as a legal matter the courts will continue to come to the same conclusion.
In December, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal on the subject. This summer, questions about Obama's citizenship flared, especially on right-wing blogs, which claimed that he was not born in Hawaii and therefore didn't qualify for president as a natural born citizen. Many staunch conservatives have dismissed the claims.
