Battle-scarred judge says Lakin decision ignores Constitution

Battle-scarred judge says Lakin decision ignores Constitution

In addressing the court, Jensen said, "If the president is ineligible, you need to know that, Lt. Col. Lakin needs to know that, and the army needs to know that."

He also argued that obtaining birth and education records was routine and would do the court no harm. He said it was possible to even admit the evidence during this phase of the trial and later determine whether it could be used during the actual court-martial.

Instead, Lind said:

• That all parties are, entitled to discovery or evidence under USMJ article 46. That President Obama is the commander in chief but that Congress also has significant and equal role in military matters under title 10 of the USC (Uniform Service Code.)
  
  
• That Congress has the authority to raise an army, fund it and over the years created a proper chain of command including the secretary of the army.
  
  
• That the issue of eligibility is a constitutional issue and a political question, not matter for a military court to decide.
  
  
• That a court-martial has no jurisdiction in any potential impeachment, and it could be embarrassing, although Lind did not specify whether she meant embarrassing for the president or for the court.

Lind also refused to accept Lakin’s claim that his refusal to obey orders was a matter of conscience.

Another pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Sept 21.

Lind's decision came just days after a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general who commanded forces armed with nuclear weapons said the disclosure of Obama's documentation is not just critical to Lakin's defense, but to the preservation of the nation itself.

The vehement statements came in an affidavit from retired Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney, a Fox News military analyst, that was disclosed by an organization generating support for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin.

Lakin had invited his own court-martial because he is unable to follow orders under the chain of command with Obama at its head unless the president's eligibility is documented.

McInerney, who retired in 1994 after serving as vice commander in chief of USAF forces in Europe, commander of the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing and assistant vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, among other positions, said the chain of command issue is critical, since officers are obligated both to follow orders and to disobey illegal orders.

"Officers in the United States military service are – and must be – trained that they owe their highest allegiance to the United States Constitution," he said in the affidavit.

"There can be no question that it is absolutely essential to good order and discipline in the military that there be no break in the unified chain of command, from the lowliest E-1 up to and including the commander in chief who is under the Constitution, the president of the United States. As military officers, we owe our ultimate loyalty not to superior officers or even to the president, but rather, to the Constitution."

He explained "good order and discipline requires not blind obedience to all orders but instead requires officers to judge – sometimes under great adversity – whether an order is illegal.

"The president of the United States, as the commander in chief, is the source of all military authority," he said. "The Constitution requires the president to be a natural born citizen in order to be eligible to hold office. If he is ineligible under the Constitution to serve in that office that creates a break in the chain of command of such magnitude that its significance can scarcely be imagined."

Lakin is being supported by the American Patriot Foundation, which said the affidavit is for use in Lakin's trial, scheduled Oct. 13-15.

Who defends The Constitution anymore, if not Resident Obama, if not the Courts, not the Military, if not Congress, and if not even the Supreme Court?