White House Releases President Obama's Birth Certificate

The White House(WASHINGTON) -- White House lawyers passed out copies of President Obama’s “long form” birth certificate to reporters Wednesday morning before the president called an impromptu gathering in the briefing room to discount claims that he was born somewhere outside the United States.

“We do not have time for this kind of silliness,” the president told reporters Wednesday. “We have better stuff to do. I have better stuff to do.”

In addition to the birth certificate, White House officials distributed correspondence between White House Counsel Bob Bauer and the state of Hawaii, where the president was born.

Conspiracy theorists have long questioned where the president was born and the rumor has been given voice most recently by Donald Trump as Trump considers running for the White House. A recent USA Today polls indicates that 38 percent of voters said they are not convinced President Obama was born in the United States.

Trump, who arrived Wednesday morning in the early campaign state of New Hampshire, said, "Today, I'm very proud of myself because I've accomplished what nobody else" was able to do.

"Our president has finally released a birth certificate," he said. Trump said Obama "should have done it a long time ago. Why he didn't.... I don't know."

The release comes as the legal challenge over the president's birth certificate is scheduled to return to federal court in California on Monday. The lawsuit, brought by a coalition of 40 American "birthers,” including former Ambassador and presidential candidate Alan Keyes, contends Obama "has never provided proof of his legitimacy" to be president and that "ample evidence" exists to show he may be illegitimate.

A copy of the president's birth certificate can be viewed on the White House blog.

UPDATE: A number of Republicans and potential presidential candidates have issued responses:

“This has long been a settled issue," said Kevin Smith, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner. "The Speaker’s focus is on cutting spending, lowering gas prices, and creating American jobs.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney tweeted, "What President Obama should really be releasing is a jobs plan.”

Sarah Palin tweets that the media should “stay focused” and not get distracted by the president’s birth certificate announcement. “Media: admit it, Trump forced the issue. Now, don't let the WH distract you w/the birth crt from what Bernanke says today. Stay focused, eh?”

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