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African Press International:
Says they Have Audio Tape of Michelle Obama Conversation

UPDATES to follow at end of story.
UPDATE #1 - 1745 Jerome Corsi, Jeff Schreiber Exchange
UPDATE #2 - 1755 African Press International Updates Story– and More!
UPDATE #3 - 1810 More from African Press International
UPDATE #4 - 1835 MSM “Ethics”

Concerning African Press International’s report today [Shocking Development] that they talked to Michelle Obama and she unloaded on “White Racists” who oppose her husband for president.

DBKP’s original report: Michelle Obama Calls African News Organization Over Obama Birth Certificate Reporting - UPDATED

From Maggie’s Notebook, “Michelle Obama and African Press Update“:

Many of you are familiar with Jeff Schreiber’s site, America’s Right. Jeff has closely followed Philip Berg’s lawsuit challenging Barack Obama’s citizenship.

It appears that Jeff has been corresponding with Jerome Corsi, a WorldNetDaily Senior Staff Reporter, and author of The Obama Nation. You may recall that Dr. Corsi was recently arrested and held in Kenya while investigating Barack Obama’s relationship with Kenya’s Prime Minister, Raila Odinga. That, of course, is another story.

Here’s the update. Corsi has been in touch with African Press International (API) regarding the validity of an article API posted online quoting Michelle Obama. Depending on your point-of-view, the alleged quotes by Michelle Obama were not the kind of rhetoric you would expect from a soon-to-be-maybe, First Lady.

Email No. 1
From: African Press International (API)
Subject: Re: J.Corsi on Michelle Obama story
To: [Address Blocked]
Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 11:53 AM

I want to thank you for your email.

API hereby confirms to you that the story is true and if the huge interest on this particular story continues, we will post the recording on our website in the next immediate days.

When we published the story we did not intend to cause any chaos but we are shocked by the huge interest the story is receiving from the Americans and the American Media.

Mrs Obama called us just to ask API to stop joining the mainstream hate online media that is trying to destroy her husband’s opportunity to get the presidency.

Our editorial will sit today and agree on how to release the information that will verify the story.

Very many media outlets are asking us to email them the recording but we think the best way to satisfy all at once is by publishing it on our website and people can retrieve it themselves.

We understand the urgency this may have but it is important for us that we do it right so that we do not land into problems with Obama’s just like you did while in Kenyan recently.

Yours Sincerely,

Chief Editor Korikr

Email No. 2
From: African Press International (API)
Subject: Re: J.Corsi on Michelle Obama story
To: [Address Blocked]
Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 12:57 PM

To Jerome Corsi,

We do not want to be misunderstood. We are not out to stop Obama from capturing the presidency.

We are not here to prove to people the story, but we will give proper verification so that people will understand that the story is true.

Soon, when we come with more information on the site, those who doubt the story will be surprised why Mrs Obama would choose to talk to us and not other media outlets.

We will bring out information on how she was connected to us, how she was convinced her story was safe with us and why she trusted API. And who introduced her to those who contacted API first before she personally took contact in an effort to ensure that API does not publish things on her husband that may be seen to be harmfull.

If we start dishing out audio to media outlets, we will be misunderstood. We do not want people to think that we published the story in order to spoil Obama’s chances to become the president.

Those who are contacting you demanding that the story should be verified now, should be directed by your media to check our website in the next day or two. All the information will be made available, but we must do it carefully.

Regards,

Chief Editor Korir
API

UPDATES to follow

ALSO at DBKP:

* * Michelle Obama Calls African News Organization Over Obama Birth Certificate Reporting
* Obama College, Medical, Birth Records: Who is Barack Obama?
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: Video Released On YouTube
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: Updates, News and Reactions
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: The Curious Behavior of the Obama Campaign
* Obama, Bill Ayers, and FactCheck.Org: All Have Ties To Annenberg Foundation

Our attempts to reach API by phone have not been successful, but their website indicates that the Editor will be available from October 16-18 to answer questions on this story.

UPDATES

UPDATE #1 1745 EDT

Jeff Schreiber, America’s Right, who has been trying to decide if the API article passes the sniff test. Schreiber has the entire correspondence between API and Jerome Corsi.

At 1:30 pm today:

The source I could not name earlier is in fact Jerome Corsi, author of the bestselling book, The Obama Nation. Corsi, of course, was the journalist detained in and deported from Kenya just a short week ago, shortly before he was to conduct a press conference further detailing among other things the relationship between Barack Obama and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Since hearing about the article released yesterday by African Press International, Corsi has been attempting to gain access to or even further information about materials which could verify the authenticity of the statements purported to come from Michelle Obama and subsequently denied by the Obama campaign.

“Given the e-mails I’m getting from the chief editor, he’s defending himself and I’m challenging him to produce the recording he says that he has,” Corsi said. “I don’t see any motive for him to lie. Still, I’m not accepting it as authentic without further investigation.”

Corsi went on to say that, “given the way he is defending it,” the report seems to be initially credible, and that “right now, my journalistic instincts say ‘okay, you’ve got my attention, and if you’re prepared to say it’s reliable, then prove it.’”

Schreiber, who’s been doing yeoman’s duty covering the Berg v. Obama federal lawsuit, is a great impartial source for all of this.

In his 5 pm update, both he and Corsi are raising additional questions about the API report. Basically, it boils down to: if the editor does have an audio tape (or phone logs), then the story is BIG. Absent that, it’s just another story on the Internet.

Corsi also agrees that, sans audiotape, the story is not credible, stating that as far as he is concerned, until an audiotape or similar evidence is produced verifying the statements as Michelle Obama’s, the story is just a story.

“They write that they don’t want to release the tape for fear they will influence the election doesn’t add up,” Corsi said. “If that is the case, why’d they write the story in the first place?”

Read the whole exchange with the emails at America’s Right.

UPDATE #2 -1755 EDT

API has a new update on the story and African Press International seems a bit stunned that A) the story caused so much commotion and B) that the Obama campaign is denying that the conversation took place.

The Obama saga and the Presidency

We appreciate that you have send to us the information below to alert us on what is happening there in the US.

I would like to let you know that I have just send in a comment to the ABC News ’s Jake Tapper story and I hope he publishes my comments.

Soon, we will expose everything - information that we have, and that will make those who doubt us to retract their sentiments. The recordings will be released if need be in the long run. We did not imagine that there would be a huge interest in the story. Today we have received over 10000 emails and they are still coming. The comments are many and will be published. We will not mislead readers in any way. API spoke to Mrs Obama and the reasons she choose us will soon be made public in necessary.

The story is true.

By Chief Editor Korir

African press International - API

UPDATE #3 - 1810 EDT

More from African Press International:

* The Michelle Obama story sparks outcry in the US - The Americans demand that API makes public the Audio recording

The reaction to the following story Shocking development: Mrs Obama decides enough is enough: “My husband was born in Hawaii and adopted by his step father, does that make him unpatriotic; she asks”, on a direct telephone to API., necessitates that we inform our readers on the following:

1. API had a telephone call from Mrs Obama after consultations with Nairobi. We will avail all the details and what transpired so that all interested parties may understand that the story is not fake.

2. API has no interest in the outcome of the US elections and we do not partner with any group in the promotion of any candidate for the presidency.

3. Our recordings will be released when we are satisfied it is not intended to be misused in any way or for any gains by an group.

Today, API received thousands of emails and replied to some from different people who wanted to know more about the story and others who wanted to get the audio recording emailed. However, we were shocked to learn that the emails replied by us were published on different blogs - made public. Our replies to the emails were not intended for publication.

Although we are not hiding anything, we would like to release all the information in the right way in order to avoid misunderstandings that may put us into problems with the Obama’s. We do not want to land into legal disputes with anyone.

The Obama campaign spokesperson(s) should not be quick to dismis the story as false. They should wait until they get all the facts on the table before making any conclussions. They should not think they control all calls Mrs Obama makes.

The timing of the interview should not be faulted on us. It was Mrs Obama who contacted us after someone took the initiative from Nairobi to connect API and her.

API requests all readers to be patient. They will get all the facts very soon, now that we have realised the importance of the story to them.

By Chief Editor Korir

* The Obama saga continues…. email exchanges between API and Dr Corsi was not meant for publishing
“Thank you for the information on what is going on. We appreciate. API will not be pressurised to email the recordings to individual media outlets. API was not aware that the receptients of our emails were actually forwarding them to other media outlets. We understand that the purpose of doing so is to pressure [...]”

UPDATE #4 - 1836 EDT

First, DBKP does not know if the phone call in question took place. African Press International is saying it did and that it has the audio to prove it. The Obama camp is saying “100% bogus”.

However, many stories reported in the media are reported and details are confirmed or debunked as they emerge. In the Mainstream Media, depending on party affiliation, the qualifying details meet very flexible standards.

In the John Edwards Scandal, Edwards himself had to “confess” on national TV before the MSM would inform readers that the Democrat presidential and then VP candidate had an affair and a likely love child by Rielle Hunter and was was engaged in an elaborate cover-up.

In John McCain’s case, all it took for the New York Times to run a page one “expose” about a supposed eight-year-old affair was a few unnamed sources and another source who said the Times twisted the meaning of his words.

See? Flexible standards.

JammieWearingFool is skeptical, as is Little Green Footballs.

JWF says, “I’ll be happy to update if there’s audio. If there is and it’s authentic, the Obamas are going to be in a world of hurt. I just find it hard to believe someone would be so reckless as to dial up a website nobody has ever heard of to go on some tirade like this.”

We’re skeptical, but cautiously so.

We were initially skeptical of the John Edwards story as gossip. When the National Enquirer published more hard info in December, it was a different animal for us–if not for the MSM.

The same was true for the Larry Sinclair story with opposite results: the more that was known, the more that we were able to prove Mr. Sinclair was a fraud without any supporting evidence.

Our philosophy is that readers should be told what is known and they can make up their own minds: some will agree with us, some will not. We are proud we do not adhere to so-called MSM “ethics”. These “ethics” have proved to be so flexible as to be non-existent. Anyone following Election 2008 will be able to see the MSM’s “ethics” in coverage in action.

It’s wise for the Obama campaign to deny this story, whether it is true or not. Likely, they will continue to deny it–even if an audio tape surfaces.

While wise for the Obama camp to deny this story, MSM outlets are also doing the same–without checking the story out first. We think they are skeptical when unpleasant information is known about Barack Obama.

Readers of the New York Times’ or the AP’s apologia for Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers can see that the Times and the AP are only skeptical of unfortunate or unpleasant news about Barack Obama.

If there is no audio tape or phone log, we will report it.

If there is, we will report it.

Until then, readers have all of the information DBKP has. They can arrive at their own judgments.

According to Journalism 101, that’s the way news is supposed to work.

UPDATE #5 - working

by Mondo