Army Birther Doc Gets Jail

Not sure what this guy was thinking about, other than having a Sarah Palin moment – but the Army Doc who refused deployment early this year unless he was allowed to guage the legitimacy of the President by seeing his birth certificate…

Is no longer in the Army… And is on his way to jail… And will lose his retirement benefits for his service, facing a felony conviction and a Dishonorable Discharge. I don’t know if he keeps his Veteran’s benefits for himself and his family. What a waste of an apparently otherwise Honorable 18 years of service.

Here is an interview by Anderson Cooper earlier this year. Looks to me Col Lakin got sucked in and used by the radical right. Now Col Lakin and his family get to pay the Piper…Alone.

‘Birther’ sentenced to six months in prison, kicked out of Army

Just hours after being found guilty at his court-martial, Army Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin said he was ashamed and remorseful over his decision to refuse deployment to Afghanistan earlier this year, but he hedged on questions about President Barack Obama’s citizenship.

“I don’t want [my career] to end this way,” a tearful Lakin said to military jurors during the sentencing phase of his trial Wednesday afternoon. “I want to continue to serve … It crushed me not to be on deployment. I can be on a plane tomorrow. I’d truly do that.”

Lakin, a 17-year Army physician, was sentenced to six months in prison and dismissal from the service on Thursday after being found guilty of disobeying orders and ignoring his deployment orders. In April, Lakin posted an online video declaring he would not return to Afghanistan with his unit until questions regarding Obama’s birth certificate were answered to his satisfaction. The move made him an instant hero to the birther movement, which helped him raise money for his legal defense.

Obama was born in Hawaii, but questions about his parents and overseas upbringing were raised during his 2008 presidential campaign. Hawaiian officials that year verified the existence of his birth certificate, addressing those issues for all but a fringe group that insists that the president is not legally qualified to serve in the White House.

As part of their sentencing evidence, prosecutors played Lakin’s video for the jury. In it, he states that a president who is not a natural-born citizen “would subvert law and truth” and demands that Obama “release your original, signed birth certificate — if you have one.”

During an hour of unsworn testimony, Lakin called that video an embarrassing mistake, brought on by pressure and poor advice from supposed supporters.

“I would not do this again,” he said. “It was a confusing time for me, and I was very emotional. I thought I was choosing the right path, and I did not.”

Lakin said he still believes questions exist about the president’s eligibility for office, but he told jurors that disobeying Army orders to prove that point was a poor way to show his frustration about what he said was a lack of investigation into the issue.

The 45-year-old physician appeared somber and exhausted from two days in court, and was battered by his own civilian defense lawyer during his sentencing statement.

“Are you done disobeying orders, Col. Lakin?” attorney Neal Puckett angrily asked his client. “You invited this court-martial. You invited this sentence. And for the rest of your life, you get to live with a federal felony conviction.”…

 

Col. – I’d give you one of my “Orange Jumpsuit Awards”, except I think that would be too crass. The victims here are your family, and the ugly fact is, whether through niavete, ignorance, or some desire for self masturbatory fame – you failed more than the Army. As such, you only rate our pity.