Robert Chaney

5680 Schumacher Road

Sebring, Florida 33872-2600

9 December 2008

CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN G. ROBERTS

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
ONE FIRST STREET N E
WASHINGTON DC 20543-0001

RE: Natural Born and Naturalized Citizens

DEAR CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS:

As you know, the Constitution of the United States of America, Article II, Section 1 outlines the
process to be used when voting for eligible candidates to the Office of the President. That same
Article lists the eligibility requirements for the Office of the President. The only requirements are
that a person:
1. Be a resident within the United States for 14 years;
2. Be at least 35 years old; and
3. Be a “natural born citizen.”

As the 14th Amendment points out, there are only two kinds of “citizens” in our country:

1. Natural Born -- “persons born ... in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof....” (applies only one way—at birth); and

2. Naturalized -- “persons ... naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof....” (can apply two ways: at birth or at some later time).

Not all persons born in the U.S.A. are citizens. According to Amendment 14, a person “born in
the United States” is a citizen only if that person’s citizenship is “subject to the jurisdiction” of
the United States at birth. Babies born here with parents who are foreign diplomats would be an
example of someone being born in the U.S.A., but NOT being a citizen.

The 14th Amendment continues on to show that both kinds of citizens have dual citizenship based
upon their geographic residence at the time of their birth or naturalization, since they “are
citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” If they are born in a state that
has jurisdiction over their citizenship and the U.S. also has jurisdiction over their citizenship,
then, and only then, are they “natural born” citizens of both the U.S.A. and the State of their
residence. This particular dual citizenship is, therefore, necessary to be a “natural born” citizen.
A person born where the United States has jurisdiction, but no state has jurisdiction, over their
citizenship status, would NOT be a “natural born” citizen. Any naturalization law to the contrary
would be un-constitutional and invalid.
 Page 2
Robert Chaney
9 December 2008

The Constitution is the Supreme Law of our land. It declares who is a “natural born” citizen and
it authorizes Congress to make laws determining how people, who are NOT natural born
citizens, can become citizens through naturalization.1 Congress can not grant “natural born”
status to anyone who is NOT born in a State of the United States, and subject to the jurisdictions
thereof. Congress can only make laws affecting persons who are NOT natural born citizens.
Anyone declared to be a citizen by Congressional decree is, thereby, NOT eligible to be the
President of the United States of America.

John McCain was born in Panama. Panama was not subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States, and it was not subject the jurisdiction of any State of the U.S.A. at the time of his birth.
Mr. McCain is, without doubt, a citizen. However, he is a naturalized citizen by Congressional
decree. He is NOT a natural born citizen.

Barack Obama, Jr. has indicated that he was born in Hawaii, implying that he is a natural born
citizen. However, his birthplace, alone, is not enough to make him a naturalized citizen of the
United States, let alone a natural born citizen. His “Fight The Smears” web site indicates that
Mr. Obama was subject to England’s citizenship jurisdiction at his birth, meaning he was born a
British citizen which makes him not a citizen of the United States, since he is neither a natural
born, nor—as yet—a naturalized citizen of the U.S.A.:

“When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Kenya
was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire.
As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose
citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948.
That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children.”
http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate

It appears that neither of the top two presidential candidates is constitutionally eligible for the
Office of the President. One is not a natural born citizen, and the other isn’t a citizen at all.

We are hoping to see someone enforce the Constitution instead of ignoring it.

Respectfully yours,

Robert Lee Chaney

1 U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8.