AP- WASHINGTON D.C. - In a move certain to fuel the debate over Obama’s qualifications for the presidency, the group "Americans for Freedom of Information" has released copies of President Obama’s college transcripts from Occidental College. Released today, the transcript indicates that Obama, under the name Barry Soetoro, received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia as an undergraduate at the school. The transcript was released by Occidental College in compliance with a court order in a suit brought by the group in the Superior Court of California. The transcript shows that Obama (Soetoro) applied for financial aid and was awarded a fellowship for foreign students from the Fulbright Foundation Scholarship program. To qualify, for the scholarship, a student must claim foreign citizenship. This document would seem to provide the smoking gun that many of Obama’s detractors have been seeking.

The news has created a firestorm at the White House as the release casts increasing doubt about Obama’s legitimacy and qualification to serve as president. When reached for comment in London, where he has been in meetings with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama smiled but refused comment on the issue. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs scoffed at the report stating that this was obviously another attempt by a right-wing conservative group to discredit the president and undermine the administration’s efforts to move the country in a new direction.

Britain's Daily Mail has also carried the story in a front-page article titled, "Obama Eligibility Questioned", leading some to speculate that the story may overshadow economic issues on Obama’s first official visit to the U.K.

In a related matter, under growing pressure from several groups, Justice Antonin Scalia announced that the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear arguments concerning Obama’s legal eligibility to serve as President in a case brought by Leo Donofrio of New Jersey. This lawsuit claims Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. Donofrio's case is just one of 18 suits brought by citizens demanding proof of Obama’s citizenship or qualification to serve as president.

Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation has released the results of their investigation of Obama’s campaign spending. This study estimates that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records. Mr. Kreep indicated that the investigation is still ongoing but that the final report will be provided to the U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder. Mr. Holder has refused to comment on the matter.

This chain email contains multiple falsehoods:

• The article is not from the Associated Press (AP), which has confirmed to FactCheck.org that the article is hoax. A web search also turns up no record of the article being published at established, reputable news outlets, and as Snopes.com has observed the article does not conform to AP stylebook guidelines. [1,2]

• The group "Americans for Freedom of Information" does not exist. A web search for the group returns no official group by that name, though now the search does return a site that says "Americans for Freedom of Information: We Do Not Exist" and proceeds to mock as "chumps" people who take the chain email seriously. [3]

• Occidental College has not released any of Obama's education transcripts, and nor does a web search indicate that they have ever been ordered to. [4]

• Britain's Daily Mail has not published an article titled "Obama Eligibility Questioned" on their front page or otherwise. [5]

• Leo Donofrio's lawsuit claiming that Obama has dual citizenship was rejected by the Supreme Court on December 8, 2008. [6,7]

• At the United States Justice Foundation's website there is no mention of a study claiming that Obama has spent any money, let alone close to a million dollars in campaign funds, fighting to block disclosure of personal records. Gary Kreep has moreover informed FactCheck.org that the claim that his organization has released the results of such a study is a hoax. [1,8]
  

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Is Obama a natural-born U.S. citizen, and thus eligible to be president?

Did Obama need a non-U.S. passport when he traveled to Pakistan in 1981?

Did Obama say Americans do not consider the U.S. a Christian nation?

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[1] Jackson, Brooks. Has a "smoking gun" been found to prove Obama was not born a U.S. citizen? Did he attend Occidental College on a scholarship for foreign students?. FactCheck.org. May 28, 2009.

[2] Snopes.com. Occidental College.

[3] Americans for Freedom of Information. Americans for Freedom of Information: We Do Not Exist.

[4] Occidental College. Obama FAQs. (Accessed June 20, 2009)

[5] Daily Mail. Results for 'Obama Eligibility Questioned'. (Accessed June 20, 2009)

[6] Barnes, Robert. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Obama Nationality Case. Washington Post. December 8, 2008

[7] Supreme Court of the United States. Docket for 08A407.

[8] United States Justice Foundation. Archive for the 'Litigation over Obama's Citizenship' Category. (Accessed June 20, 2009)