General Who Introduced Trump At 'Birther' Event Once Questioned Obama Birthplace In Affidavit

Before Donald Trump said definitively Friday that President Obama was, in fact, born in the United States, he was introduced by a handful of military veterans who gave their ringing endorsements of Trump.

One of those vets is a prominent "birther" himself who once questioned the legitimacy of Obama's presidency in a sworn affidavit.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney said in the 2010 affidavit that there was "widespread and legitimate concerns that the President is constitutionally ineligible to hold office" and called those concerns "widely held."

McInerney wrote the affidavit in support of Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, an Army doctor who refused deployment to Afghanistan because he didn't believe Obama was constitutionally eligible to issue the order because of his birthplace.

Military members are required to disobey illegal orders. In his affidavit, McInerney said Lakin "acted exactly as proper training dictates."

"If he is ineligible under the Constitution to serve in that office that creates a break in the chain of command of such magnitude that its significance can scarcely be imagined," McInerney said.

He continued: "According to our Constitution, the Commander in Chief must now, in the face of serious-- and widely held-- concerns that he is ineligible, either voluntarily establish his eligibility by authorizing release of his birth records or this court must authorize their discovery."

Lakin was sentenced to six months in military prison and served five months before being released.

McInerney's affidavit can be read in full below:

Image via Department of Defense