Judge’s Ruling Clears Way for McCain to Become President

A federal judge ruled that John McCain is a “natural born citizen” of the United States and can thus become president, even though he was born in the Panama Canal Zone, the Associated Press reports.

McCain’s father, a Navy officer, was stationed near the Panama Canal when McCain was born in 1936. A lawsuit raised questions over whether McCain was eligible to become president, since only “natural born citizens” can hold that office.

Judge William Alsup in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco said that the law at the time of McCain’s birth had granted U.S. citizenship to the children of American citizens. Alsup also threw out the case because the plaintiff, Markham Robinson, chairman of the American Independent Party, had no standing to sue because he isn’t running for president.