Just finished viewing Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio's very somber press conference regarding the initial findings of his volunteer "cold case posse" on the matter of Obama's birth certificate, selective service registration card and birth place.

The short of it is he and his lead posse investigator concluded that there is sufficient probable cause and sworn affidavits to conclude that fraud and forgery have, in fact, been committed.

Very briefly, despite his investigators' attempt to affirmatively validate the authenticity of the birth certificate presented by the White House last year the posse investigators were unable to do so; that following a careful and expert forensic examination,  the document shown by the White House last year was, in fact, a forgery and that "a person of interest" has been identified as the likely forger; that, similarly, his Selective Service registration documentation is also a forgery; that when trying to locate INS travel documentation for persons travelling to and from the US in August 1961, that for the period Aug 1 - 7 all documents were missing from the archives without explanation; that there is a sworn affidavit that a person was present when Obama, in his earlier years, was introduced in the yard of Bill Ayers as a foreign student; that the investigation could not determine with certitude whether or not Obama was born in the United States or elsewhere.

The assembled press immediately launched an attack on Sheriff Arpaio and his investigative team, impugning the motives of the Sheriff and his volunteer investigators, animatedly charging them with deliberately accusing Obama of fraud. Sheriff Arpaio stoutly defended his position as a law enforcement professional, saying that he wasn't accusing the President of anything, but that, like any other criminal investigation, he is treating the evidence uncovered as part of a criminal investigation but is NOT accusing anyone of a crime--yet.

He did suggest that the President might want to unilaterally "come up with documentation to put the case to rest" and to verify his "place of birth", but, again, he did not in any way suggest that the President has committed a crime.  And in answer to a hostile press enquiry, his lead investigator also noted that a certificate of live birth does not provide credible evidence of one's identity or citizenship.

Again, it was not a gleeful event. It was somber, professional and very serious. No one was in a celebratory mood that I could see.

As to the next step, Sheriff Arpaio confirmed that deciding upon the next step will be "tough", though he did laugh off any thought of turning the matter over to the Justice Department for follow-through. He did indicate that at this juncture he would prefer a congressional investigation.

The posse's investigation will continue until the forger(s) are identified and, presumably, arraigned. Where this investigation, arraignments and sworn statements lead is anyone's guess. But, frankly, it doesn't look good for the President. I suspect Atty Gen Holder will redouble his efforts to harrass the Sheriff in the meantime.

The American people are indebted to Sheriff Arpaio and his volunteer "Cold Case Posse" for their deliberate and professional effort.

Stay tuned. That proverbial fan against which fecal matter is often prone to slap is just starting to rotate.

This is a very, very serious moment in our history. The issue can longer be conveniently ducked by the willfully blind or politically motivated.