>> reporter: dr. chiyome fukino is the former director of the hawaii department of health and a devoted republican. until now she had not talked on camera about this topic. >> as a republican member of the last republican governor of hawaii, linda lingle's cabinet, do you have any doubt that barack obama was born in the united states? >> absolutely not. i have no doubt. >> reporter: dr. fukino says she was asked last year by the governor's press secretary to make a statement about the birth certificate controversy. under state law a public official can look at someone else's certificate if there is a "direct and tangible interest." she indeed felt she had that interest because of the statement she had to make. so she found the original obama birth certificate, stored in a vault in the department of health building. and what did it tell you? was it authentic? was he born here in the state of hawaii? >> it was absolutely authentic. he was absolutely born here in the state of hawaii. >> reporter: but dr. fukino says even if she hadn't seen the original certificate this document, the president's computer-generated certificate, which was made public three years ago, had already proven he