First Lady Michelle Obama apparently is in a "panic" over Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's probe into whether her husband, President Barack Obama, is a U.S. citizen -- if you believe the supermarket tabloid The Globe's "inside" White House sources, that is.

Arpaio, who applauds supermarket tabloids as having "the best journalistic stories," is running with The Globe's absurd claim, "tweeting" the following on his Twitter page this afternoon:

"In this week's Globe, inside sources in the White House stated the FLOTUS is in a panic over my investigation into Obama's legal status."

In other Globe news, Frank Sinatra "seduced two first ladies," Sarah Palin's getting divorced, and the paper apparently has solved the 30-year-old mystery of what really happened to actress Natalie Wood.

The article to which the sheriff is referring is titled "Cops Probe Identity of Obama's Real Dad."

Arpaio, as we've reported, has launched an investigation into whether Obama is a U.S. citizen eligible to be president at the request of "birther" conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi and a local group of Tea Partiers.

We spoke with the sheriff about his probe into the continuously debunked conspiracy theory a few weeks ago. He told us Hawaiian twins and microfiche could be the key to solving the "birther" mystery once and for all. Click here for details.

In September, Arpaio was again singing the praises of supermarket tabloid journalism, telling the Arizona Republic's Dan Nowicki that tabloids like The Globe and the National Enquirer are "more accurate than anybody else. You laugh at that, but I've dealt with the National Enquirer and their stories are always right down the line, believe it or not."

Given the sheriff's affinity for tabloid journalism, we sent his office an email asking if he cared to comment on the recent breakup of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries. We also sought comment on the Demi Moore/Ashton Kutcher divorce. We'll let you know if we hear back.