Orly Taitz
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Orly Taitz is an Israeli-American dentist, real estate agent, and lawyer[1][2] in Orange County, California, who is a leading figure in the "birther" movement which challenges whether Barack Obama is a natural-born citizen eligible to serve as President of the United States. She runs a non-profit organization called the "Defend Our Freedoms Foundation" [3]
Early life
Taitz was raised in the Moldavian SSR, (present day Moldova) and immigrated to Israel. In 1987 she immigrated to the United States.[2]
Theories
Taitz alleges that Obama was born in Kenya and that he falsified his Selective Service papers and his application to the Illinois bar. [4]
Cook v Obama
Taitz represented Stefan F. Cook, a Major in the United States Army Reserve, who challenged his order to be deployed in Afghanistan because of his claim that Obama is not a legitimate president. The case was dismissed when the Army Reserve recalled his order to deploy.
Philip J. Berg lawsuit
On May 4, 2009, Taitz and her organization, "Defend Our Freedoms Foundation", were sued by Philip J. Berg, a rival leader in the Birther movement, accusing Taitz and her organization of harassing Berg's supporters. The allegations included a claim that Taitz uses "JS Kit" software, which "tracks" and "hacks" computers and individuals that visit her websites and blogs. Berg also alleges that, when Taitz filed a lawsuit on behalf of Alan Keyes against President Obama, she plagiarized Berg's work. In addition, Berg claims that "Defend Our Freedoms Foundation" does not have a proper Federal Tax Identification Number, that Taitz claimed Obama's "thugs" were stealing money from her supporters by making fake e-mail addresses and encouraging people to send PayPal donations to them instead of her real e-mail address, and that she falsely complained to the Federal Government that her own websites had been hacked. [3]
Facebook controversy
On July 27, 2009, Taitz said that prominent Republicans Michael Steele, Eric Cantor, Cynthia Lummis, and Mary Bono Mack had added Taitz as their Facebook friend. While Taitz argued that this amounted to an endorsement of her views, stating "that the leadership of the Republican party understands the importance of the issues and legal cases I brought forward," this claim was disputed by spokespersons for Lummis, Steele, and Cantor, who denied that the Facebook friendships constitute an endorsement of Taitz's theories. Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said, "It is a bipartisan practice and common sense that when a person signs up to be a 'friend' or 'supporter' on an elected official’s social networking site, they are signaling support of the elected official...It does not signal an endorsement of the views of any individual or group." [5]
Personal life
Taitz lives in Laguna Niguel, California[6] and she has 3 children.[2]
Taitz claims to speak five languages and has a second degree black belt in Taekwondo.[1][7]
References
- ^ a b Orly Taitz personal blog retrieved on July 28, 2009
- ^ a b c Kornhaber, Spencer (June 17, 2009). "Meet Orly Taitz, Queen Bee of People Obsessed With Barack Obama's Birth Certificate". OC Weekly.
- ^ a b "Taitz, Hale Complaint 05 04 2009". Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ "Lamar lawmaker, House leader from Joplin at odds on matter". Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ Libit, Daniel (July 27, 2009). "Birther leader: GOP is with me". politico.com. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ^ Coker, Matt (July 23, 2009). "Daily Show's Jon Stewart Eviscerates Birthers, Orly Taitz, Lou Dobbs and Especially Congressman John Campbell". OC Weekly.
- ^ July 28, 2009 episode of the The Colbert Report