The lead investigator in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's review of the authenticity of Barack Obama's birth certificate today unloaded a bombshell about the case: that he was told by sources members of the media were threatened with federal investigations should they continue to report on the birth certificate issue.
Lead investigator Mike Zullo told WND that as he was preparing information to be presented to the public "it was clear that the mainstream media was not going to be in attendance" at the sheriff's scheduled new conference, where he presented facts suggesting both fraud and forgery in the image of a Hawaiian birth certificate that the White House released last yearas "proof positive" of Obama's eligibility for office.
"During our investigation, we actually were told [that media] had been threatened with FTC investigations. Commentators [had been] threatened with their jobs," Zullo said.
The threats were so intimidating that some individuals quit their positions over safety concerns for their families, he said.
So the problem became to get the information to the American public in spite of an intentional media blackout, since citizens still must make critical leadership decisions about their government through the election process.
The solution was an ebook with details from the investigation, the evidence that was accumulated, and the issue that remain for Arpaio and his investigators to pursue.
Zullo has been blasted in recent days for coordinating the book project with longtime political writer Jerome Corsi. Much of the online criticism stems from a single AP article that links Zullo to "well-known political conspiracy writer" Corsi and includes a statement that Corsi "denied using Sheriff Joe Arpaio ... as a promotional tool to sell his books and theories."
It cites Zullo "as the co-author" of the ebook. But it fails to mention the evidence cited by the investigation indicating crimes of fraud and forgery.
Zullo told WND that he had no interest in working on an ebook but was faced with the question of how to get the information to the American people absent national media coverage. There were interests outside of Arizona, he was convinced, making obvious efforts to censor the information and never allow it to move beyond the borders of Arizona.
Zullo told WND that as an investigator he sought transparency, and he just wanted the information made available to everyone who wished a closer look. He said it was not an easy decision. He knew he would be ridiculed by the media if the information was released, but the alternative of allowing the information to be squelched and people kept in the dark was just too much of an injustice. He decided to allow the ebook project in order to disseminate the facts of the case: that there is probable cause to believe Obama's birth certificate document is a forgery.
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