In an affidavit reported last night by birther site WorldNetDaily, Thomas McInerney, a retired lieutenant general who now serves as a Fox News military analyst, says that he believes there are “widespread and legitimate concerns that the President is constitutionally ineligible to hold office,” and expresses support for an Army officer who is currently awaiting a court-martial for refusing to obey orders from his commanding officers “until the president produces his original birth certificate.”

McInerney has been interviewed on Fox News at least four times in the last year, most recently on the August 29 edition of Fox News' America's News HQ. During that time, he has appeared in taped reports on five editions of Fox News' premiere “news” program, Special Report.* He has also written occasional columns for FoxNews.com's Fox Forum. Between January 1, 2002, and May 13, 2008, McInerney made 144 Fox News appearances.

McInerney submitted his affidavit in support of a request for discovery from attorneys for Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Lakin seeking Obama's “birth records.” On August 5, the Associated Press reported that Lakin had been “charged with disobeying orders after failing to show up for duty in Afghanistan and questioning whether President Barack Obama has the right to order him there.”

McInerney writes that if Obama is constitutionally ineligible, “that creates a break in the chain of command of such magnitude that its significance can scarcely be imagined.” Citing the importance of a “unified chain of command” in his own experience commanding nuclear-equipped forces, the Fox analyst claims that "[t]oday, because of the widespread and legitimate concerns that the President is constitutionally ineligible to hold office, I fear what would happen should such a crisis occur today."

McInerney goes on to praise Lakin, writing that he “has acted exactly as proper training dictates. That training mandates that he determine in his own conscience that an order is legal before obeying it.” He also credits Lakin for “demonstrating the courage of his convictions and his bravery” by “invit[ing]” a court martial.

The Fox News military analyst concludes:

For the foregoing reasons, it is my opinion that LTC Lakin's request for discovery relating to the President's birth record in Hawaii is absolutely essential to determining not merely his guilt or innocence but to reassuring all military personnel once and for all for this President whether his service as Commander in Chief is Constitutionally proper. He is the one single person in the Chain of Command that the Constitution demands proof of natural born citizenship. This determination is fundamental to our Republic, where civilian control over the military is the rule. According to the Constitution, the Commander is 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. The invasion of his privacy is utterly trivial compared to the issues at stake here. Our military MUST have confidence their Commander in Chief lawfully holds his office and absent which confidence grievous consequences may ensue.

Of course, President Obama has released his birth certificate, which shows that he was born in Hawaii and is constitutionally eligible to be president. Does Fox News really want to keep someone so detached from reality that they doubt Obama's eligibility on their payroll? Is he really the one they want serving as their military analyst?

If so, that tells us even more about Fox News than we just learned about Thomas McInerney.

* In the past year, McInerney has been interviewed on:

• The August 29 edition of America's News HQ.
• The March 31 edition of Glenn Beck.
• The November 29, 2009, edition of America's News HQ.
• The October 25, 2009, edition of America's News HQ.

McInerney has appeared in taped packages for the August 4, June 25, June 23, May 27, and December 17 editions of Special Report.