Ugly Man On The Phone

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April 25th, 2011
06:42 PM ET





Trump claims Obama birth certificate 'missing'

Editor's note: Tune in to AC360° Monday beginning at 10pm ET to see more of Donald Trump's interview and Part 1 of Gary Tuchman's investigation into President Obama's birthplace.

(CNN) – Real estate mogul Donald Trump's latest claim about President Obama's birth certificate is that it's missing.

"Well I've been told very recently, Anderson, that the birth certificate is missing," Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper Monday. "I've been told that it's not there or it doesn't exist. And if that's the case it's a big problem."

When asked from whom he received the information, Trump said he didn't want to say and that he feels bad about the situation.

"I'd love for him to produce his birth certificate so that you can fight one-on-one," Trump said in an interview set to air Monday. "If you look at what he's doing to fuel prices, you can do a great fight one-on-one, you don't need this issue."

CNN's Gary Tuchman also interviewed the former director of the Hawaii Department of Health, who said she has seen the original birth certificate in the vault at the Department of Health.

In 2008, the Obama campaign released an official document called a "certification of live birth" which indicates he was born in Hawaii. This document, which is a computerized abstract of his birth information that the State of Hawaii issues to individuals requesting their birth records, satisfies proof-of-birth requirements for various federal matters, including obtaining a passport. Several news organizations as well as the Annenberg Fact Check Project viewed the document first-hand and verified that it contained the official raised seal as well as a signature stamp of the state registrar.

Trump has made national headlines by questioning the president's birthplace, even saying he has hired investigators in Hawaii to examine the situation. The reality TV star is mulling a bid for the White House and expects to make a final decision at the end of May, after the latest season of "Celebrity Apprentice" concludes.

Updated: 8:28 p.m.