At a town hall in North Carolina yesterday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) told a constituent that he did not know if President Obama was a United States citizen. “I haven’t seen evidence one way or the other,” said McHenry, adding that the issue is being addressed “in the courts.” In a statement today, McHenry walked back from the “birther” ledge:
Said McHenry in a statement this morning: “As I stated last night, I have not carefully reviewed the evidence as a jurist would. However, from what I have read, I have absolutely no reason to question President Obama’s citizenship. I anticipate that as a legal matter the courts will continue to come to the same conclusion.”
By waffling on the issue, McHenry joins the long list of conservative politicians who are afraid to confront the “wacko wing” of the Republican Party that continues to buy into the conspiracy theory that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States.
Update
A recent Public Policy Polling survey found that 47 percent of North Carolina Republicans think that Obama is not a citizen.
Update
,McHenry’s spokesperson, Brock McLeary, tells Greg Sargent unequivocally that McHenry does not doubt Obama was born in the United State and that he does not doubt his legitimacy to be president.
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