Why would it have taken Arpaio five years to address the incredibly simple question of whether or not the BC is fake? And is it only mere coincidence that he didn't even bring this up until he lost re-election?
Incredibly simple? Not in the political context. Within the first months of his investigation, Arpaio found quite a few document examiners (about ten or so, as I recall) who made serious arguments to the effect that the BC was a forgery. He found no document experts who were willing to defend the document--despite his diligence in trying to find such experts. (Arpaio probably took longer in the earliest stages of the investigation, because he was initially incredulous. [Remember: Arpaio had opened the investigation with the specific intention of
clearing his President.])
The affidavits by the document guys would have been enough for an indictment in a normal criminal case, so he sent his information package to every member of Congress. Since Obama was POTUS, he correctly reasoned that
Congress had to finish the investigation. But he got no response (other than some back channel communications to the effect that the matter was too hot for Congress). He probably waited too long. (He probably had too much faith in Congress.)
The MSM also stonewalled him. As a result, there was no groundswell of widespread interest in the case. Even conservative talk show hosts essentially ignored Arpaio--for the same reason Congress ignored him. They were all guilty of dereliction of duty. That includes conservatives who have been complaining about the mess we are in. (The gutless folks don't ever take decisive steps. Decisiveness by conservatives is never PC.)
Under the circumstances, an unconventionally thorough investigation was necessary. Arpaio was going up against the ENTIRE ESTABLISHMENT--i.e. against all three branches of the U.S. government plus the media--so, he did not limit his investigation to the expert witnesses declaring that the document didn't past muster. He continued probing in Hawaii and elsewhere and in Europe to determine how the forgery was created and, if possible, by whom. He encountered obstruction in every aspect of the investigation. However, his experts in Europe have quite evidently figured out how the document was created, and I have seen some claims that Arpaio has identified suspects in the fraud (but he will not release that evidence in public even if he has suspects).
On the final matter of timing, consider this: when Arpaio's investigation did not quickly evaporate, Obama went into an all-out war against him. Arpaio lost his re-election bid after being convicted of contempt of court. He will soon be out of office altogether. His 12/15/16 was reputedly scheduled based on that deadline as an official law enforcement officer.
At the bottom line, Arpaio originally scoffed at the Birthers, and now he is enduring that same sort of scoffing--i.e., even scoffing by naïve people like you and goatprairie. You guys ought to research the matter, not merely offer uninformed, snarky opinions.
