Sheriff Arpaio's Cold Case Posse Concludes Obama's Birth Certificate Not Authentic

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said President Barack Obama's birth certificate is not authentic.

Arpaio revealed the findings of a investigation into the president's birth certificate at a 1 hour and 20 minute news conference Thursday, calling the certificate "suspect."

Arpaio's team of investigators said they found that the long-form birth certificate was created electronically and never existed in paper form.

The president's Selective Service card was also questioned.

Arpaio's investigators claimed the document has "failed every test we put it through."

At Thursday's news conference, investigators said they will request a criminal investigation. They also said they have identified a person of interest in the forgery of the birth certificate.

Arpaio said he is not accusing the president of the crime. He said they will investigate who is behind the "possible forgery and fraud."

"I haven't decided where to go with this yet," Arpaio said. "I just wanted to get the facts of this situation. We haven't accused anyone of anything."

The controversy over the certificate has been widely debunked, but it remains alive in the eyes of some conservatives, namely members of the Tea Party who urged Arpaio to look into the matter.

For the past six months, Arpaio's "Cold Case Posse" has been investigating the authenticity of those documents to see if there's been any fraud or forgery involved.

"We conducted a very professional investigation; we have come up with I feel some probable cause, some evidence," Arpaio said Wednesday.

Arpaio said the investigation was done at no cost to taxpayers.

"Just let me say the results may be interesting without using the word 'shocked,'" Arpaio said prior to the conference. "I think it will reveal some information no one else has really developed in a professional law enforcement manner."

The Cold Case Posse comprises volunteers who are former police officers and lawyers.

Arpaio is facing problems of his own, including a federal grand jury probe over alleged abuse of power and Justice Department accusations of racial profiling.

Rather than seek cover, Arpaio is moving into the spotlight in a fashion that has helped boost his career as a nationally-known law officer.