A few days ago we obtained, via a Freedom of Information Act request, a copy of document dated a month after the 2008 election which indicated that a staffer in Paul Ryan’s office had apparently called the FEC inquiring about President-elect Obama’s citizenship and eligibility to be president. Our first reaction was basically, wow.

Could it be that the Republican vice presidential nominee, or someone on his behalf, had been calling into question Obama’s eligibility before he was even sworn in?

We started looking into and it turns out the golden boy of the conservative movement not only hasn’t dabbled in birtherism, but instead for years he’s been sending constituents who inquire about Obama’s eligibility the best available proof that Obama was born in Hawaii. Ryan Reilly has our story.

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.