On Cunningham's radio show, Corsi touted dubious “documents” he claims will “prove” Obama “made a pact” with Odinga
Written by Jocelyn Fong
Published
Jerome Corsi claimed on Bill Cunningham's radio show that he “came out of Kenya” with “documents” proving that Sen. Barack Obama “made a pact with this radical leftist politician [Raila] Odinga who is perfectly happy to expand Islamic Sharia law in Kenya and have tribal violence to get power.” But the only “documents” Corsi has thus far provided -- purported emails listing the contact in his Senate office to work with Odinga -- do not establish that Obama “made a pact” with Odinga, and they “appear not to have been written by a native English speaker,” as Politico's Ben Smith noted.
During an appearance on the October 9 broadcast of The Bill Cunningham Show, Jerome Corsi, author of The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, claimed that he “came out of Kenya” with “documents” proving that Sen. Barack Obama “made a pact with this radical leftist politician [Kenyan Prime Minister Raila] Odinga who is perfectly happy to expand Islamic Sharia law in Kenya and have tribal violence to get power.” Specifically, Corsi said: “Tomorrow, in WorldNetDaily, I'm going to publish Obama's email listing the contact in his Senate office to work with Odinga. I can prove that Odinga signed this agreement to expand Sharia law, that the Muslims voted for him and I can prove that Obama knew about that agreement.” He later added: “I can show that again Obama continued to work to get Odinga in power even after the tribal violence.” However, the emails to which Corsi referred, posted in an October 10 WorldNetDaily article, “appear not to have been written by a native English speaker,” as Politico's Ben Smith has noted.
Corsi did not reveal whether he obtained any other “documents” from Kenya besides the emails he mentioned. As Media Matters for America has noted, PolitiFact.com wrote on August 20 that Corsi's claim that Obama “openly supported” Odinga during his 2006 bid for the presidency of Kenya is “false,” as Politifact “scour[ed] the public record for evidence that Obama supported Odinga” and concluded that “Obama has remained neutral in Kenyan politics.”
Based on the alleged connection between Odinga and Obama, Corsi asked: “Is Obama going to expand Sharia law in the United States when he gets into power? Is he going to, in fact, engage in tribal violence and other -- or other kinds of violence in order to advance his goals?”
The two emails Corsi purportedly obtained while in Kenya -- which he claims were sent from Obama's Senate email account to Odinga's Yahoo.com email account -- were published in an October 10 "WorldNetDaily Exclusive" by WND news editor Bob Unruh, titled “Proof Obama backed ruthless, foreign thug.” Unruh reported: “One e-mail purportedly from Obama, dated Dec. 22, 2006, read, 'I will kindly wish that all our correspondence [be] handled by Mr Mark Lippert. I have already instructed him. This will be for my own security both for now and in future.' ” The second e-mail stated, “Thanks for contacting me about Mr Lippert through email. Contact him through mark_lippert.obama.senate.gov.” Lippert was described in July by The New York Times as “Obama's former Senate foreign policy adviser” and by Newsweek as “Obama's longest-serving foreign policy adviser.” The email address contained in the second email, “mark_lippert.obama.senate.gov,” does not appear to be valid, because it does not contain an "@."
In an October 10 post on his Politico blog, Ben Smith wrote of the emails Corsi purportedly obtained in Kenya:
After a bit of a lull, the viral emails and general nuttiness is cresting again, and my favorite “scoop” of the day is Jerome Corsi's WorldNetDaily report on secret emails between Obama -- personally -- and a Kenyan political leader.
A small glitch: These emails, [pictured] above, appear not to have been written by a native English speaker, unless 'I will kindly wish...' is a phrase I'm just unfamiliar with. They have the unmistakable flavor of solicitations from dying African princes, who need only your bank account details to make you wealthy beyond measure.
At least the Bush National Guard documents were written in the right language.
Notwithstanding the question of whether the emails are in fact from Obama, they do not support statements made by Corsi on the Cunningham broadcast that “I can prove that Odinga signed this agreement to expand Sharia law” or that “Obama knew about that agreement.” Nor do they show that “Obama continued to work to get Odinga in power” or that “Obama's been supporting him,” as Corsi also claimed.
Rather than challenge Corsi on the veracity of his assertions, Cunningham, whose show is based at Cincinnati radio station WLW, said to Corsi at the conclusion of the interview: “God bless you. That's Jerome Corsi. The truth will set you free. America will hook up with Kenyans and have an Odinga-Obama administration controlling this country? Are you willing to fight like a warrior poet or will you succumb and simply fall over dead? Be a wolverine in the high ranges of the Rockies."
From the October 9 broadcast of Clear Channel's The Big Show with Bill Cunningham:
CORSI: Well, the press conference was explosive, because I could show a link that Obama and Odinga had been in touch since 2006, even through Obama's Senate campaign office. Tomorrow, in WorldNetDaily, I'm gonna publish Obama's email listing the contact in his Senate office to work with Odinga. I can prove that Odinga signed this agreement to expand Sharia law -- that the Muslims voted for him. And I can prove that Obama knew about that agreement. I can also prove those tribal violence -- Odinga lost in December 2007 -- the Luo, his tribe -- Obama's tribe -- killed 1,000 Kikuyu. They burned down 800 -- 800 churches destroyed, some of them burned down.
And I can show that, again, Obama continued to work to get Odinga in power even after the tribal violence. So, this guy Odinga's a very bad guy, and yet Obama's been supporting him despite evidence of how bad Odinga is. So, you know, it raises questions. I was gonna raise questions in the press conference. Is Odinga -- does Obama -- are they both for the expansion of Sharia law? Is the tribal violence to gain power OK with both of them? Because I can show the documents and prove that what I was saying in The Obama Nation is true, and everything I wrote in Chapter Four was more than validated.
[...]
CORSI: Now, I came out of Kenya at least with the documents, again to prove what I wrote in the book is true, and that Obama made a pact with this radical leftist politician Odinga, who is perfectly happy to expand Islamic Sharia law in Kenya and have tribal violence to get power. You know, is Obama gonna expand Sharia law in the United States when he gets into power? Is he gonna, in fact, engage in tribal violence and other -- or other kinds of violence in order to advance his goals? I mean, this is very, very radical behavior, and I can document it with what I came out of Kenya with, despite the attempt to suppress me and arrest me.
CUNNINGHAM: Well, Jerome Corsi, WorldNetDaily.com and also The Obama Nation. I read -- I look at your website every day, several times a day, and it's great work, and I'm glad your safe. Hey, do you look forward to your next trip to Kenya?
CORSI: The final immigration officer closing the door, said, “Don't ever come back to Kenya and see you in hell.” I said, “Boy, they oughta appoint you minister of tourism under an Obama administration.”
CUNNINGHAM: Jerome Corsi, you're a great American.
CORSI: Thank you, Bill. Great honor to be with you.
CUNNINGHAM: God bless you.
CORSI: God bless you.
CUNNINGHAM: God bless you. That's Jerome Corsi. The truth will set you free. America will hook up with Kenyans and have an Odinga-Obama administration controlling this country. Are you willing to fight like a warrior poet, or will you succumb and simply fall over dead? Be a wolverine in the high ranges of the Rockies. Do not give up the fight to keep hope alive.