Arpaio insisted that he is investigating the racially-charged "birther" claims, which have been thoroughly debunked, because of demand from Tea Partiers. Obama released his long-form birth certificate in April 2011, but that was not enough for Arpaio, who said in November 2011 that he wants to see the microfiche of that document.

Arpaio met with "birther queen" Orly Taitz in October 2011 to discuss the investigation, again declining to give findings to the press.

"What should I do, throw it in the waste basket and forget about it, like everyone else is this country has done?" Arpaio said on Tuesday. "But once again, I take my elected sheriff's status very serious, and when the people ask me to do something I try to do it regardless of the repercussions, the politics and the media."

