All male citizens 18 - 25 must register with the Selective Service. There may be evidence that President Elect Obama may not have done so and people have made an effort to cover that up after the fact. Debbie Schlussel has the details.
This intrigues me on multiple levels beyond the penalties:
Men who do not register could be prosecuted and, if convicted, fined up to $250,000 and/or serve up to five years in prison. In addition, men who fail to register with Selective Service before turning age 26, even if not prosecuted, will become ineligible for:
Student Financial Aid - including Pell Grants, College Work Study, Guaranteed Student/Plus Loans, and National Direct Student Loans.
U.S. Citizenship - if the man first arrived in the U.S. before his 26th birthday.
Federal Job Training - The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) offers programs that can train young men for jobs in auto mechanics and other skills. This program is only open to those men who register with Selective Service.
Federal Jobs - men born after December 31, 1959 must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service.
There is the question of the cover up and we should all know by now, it is not the crime, it is the cover up that is usually the problem.
I also always am fascinated by those investigating things like this, how something small and seemingly trivial can be the smoking gun. For example, if you look at the document, it is suppose to be from 1980 and there is a United Postal Service stamp on it that says USPO but the postal service stopped using that stamp in 1970 and went to USPS. Smoking gun, don't know. Not sure how someone could explain it away though.
Finally, I have always had a beef with the Selective Service regarding the fact only males need to register. I live in a state where the Governor is female and both Senators are female and if you call and ask why is it only males have to register, you will get some lame answer that sure does not sound "empowering to women" to me.