Joe Biden 2008 presidential campaign with some speculating that Biden was on Obama's shortlist of vice presidential candidates. On August 23, 2008, the Obama campaign that Biden would become Barack Obama's running mate. Following U.S. Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama's selection of Biden, the Senator's vice-presidential general election campaign began. During the campaign, he used his political experience to complement Obama, and debated Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Biden was elected Vice President on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. On July 16, 2010, the Federal Election Commission fined the Biden presidential campaign $219,000 for campaign finance violations. The
Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories January 8, 2009, and sworn in as President on January 20, litigation continued into his presidency. Numerous individuals and groups filed state or federal lawsuits seeking to have Obama disqualified from standing or being confirmed for the Presidency, or to compel him to release additional documentation relating to his citizenship. By mid-December 2008, at least 17 lawsuits had been filed challenging Obama's eligibility in states including North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Connecticut, New Jersey, Texas and Washington. No such suit resulted in the grant of any relief to the plaintiffs by any court; all of the cases were rejected in