Learn English – Origin of the phrase “because of course it does”

As you probably know, the expression "because of course it [or another pronoun] does" can serve as a slangy way of indicating that something inane or cool or bizarre is at once inexplicable and yet totally predictable, given the person or other entity involved. (More rarely, writers or speakers may use it to signify that a recent event or development is utterly obvious and, hence, not newsworthy.)

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Nonslangy antecedents

Historically, the expression has occasionally appeared in settings where the speaker or writer clearly had no intention of using it with tautological irony. For example, from The Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): House of Lords (January 22, 2003) [combined snippets]:

However, I do not see how the legitimacy of the whole Chamber can come from expertise because, as I said some of the most intractable political problems are about ends, goals, purposes and values and not about mans, and there are no experts in those things.There would be no point in saying that, as a revising Chamber, the House never really deals with ends, goals or purposes because, of course, it does. If it did not do that, there would be no point in having Second Reading debates, because those debates are about the principles and values that lie behind Bills. Therefore, we have debates about ends as well as means.

And from Eliot Schrage, testimony before the U.S. Congressional Committee on International Relations (February 15, 2006), quoted in Steve May, Case Studies in Organizational Communication: Ethical Perspectives and Practices (2012):

There is no question that, as a matter of business, we want to be active in China. ... It would be disingenuous to say that we don't care about that because, of course, we do. We are a business with stockholders, and we want to prosper and grow in a highly competitive world. At the same time, acting ethically is a core value for our company, and an integral part of our business culture.

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Early instances of the slangy usage

The OP is interested in the expression as used in contexts where the speaker or writer intends it sarcastically, ironically, airily, enviously, or patronizingly. The expression appears in this sense in online content dating back at least to 2012. Here are some instances from 2007 through 2012.

From an article on the Highpass, posted on Airwindows, supposedly from January 31, 2007:

It's a simple one-pole Airwindows interleaved highpass filter, but it has a weird control (because of course it does). That control is loose/tight, and it's one of the most spectacular secret weapons for bass/subs mastering ever.

From "Click," a blog post on Amalah, dated October 24, 2008):

Ezra did get a couple ounces of formula those first nights at home -- he cluster feeds (we call it clusterfuckfeeding, because OF COURSE WE DO) at night for hours and hours until I'm raw and bone-dry, and since his weight was questionable and his pooping not satisfactory, we topped him off with a bottle and a preemie-flow nipple.

From the headline of an article by Jonathan Baude on A.V. Club, dated January 11, 2010:

Fox News Hires Sarah Palin As Commentator Because Of Course They Do

From the headline of an article by Gabe Delahaye on Stereogum, dated May 19, 2010:

Nicolas Cage Only Eats Animals That Have "Dignified" Sex, Because Of Course He Does

From the headline of an article by Sean O'Neal on A.V. Club, dated March 25, 2011:

The final season of Entourage now has Andrew Dice Clay, because of course it does

From "For the Lulz!," on Association for Progressive Communications, dated June 10, 2011:

LulzSec — which is Latin for "porkchop sandwiches" — is a morally ambiguous hacker group which has committed several high profile attacks purely for their own amusement, or "lulz". Their homepage features a giant ASCII picture of the "Lulz Boat" — because of course it does.

From the headline of a blog post by Carly Hallam at Tosh.0 Blog, dated August 3, 2011:

Mila Kunis Speaks Russian Because Of Course She Does

From a headline on BlackBook, dated January 5, 2012:

Will.i.am Designs Car Because of Course He Does

From a headline on Deadspin, dated February 28, 2012:

Plaxico Burress Wants To Be An Eagle, Because Of Course He Does

From the headline of an article by Madeleine Davies on Jezebel, dated April 9, 2012:

Cornrowed James Franco Sings Selena Gomez Song Because Of Course He Does

From a headline at Scoutmob.com, dated April 20, 2012:

Hustler Club Truck Offends Citizens Because Of Course It Does

From the headline of an article by Chris Sims on Comics Alliance, dated August 8, 2012:

Bizarro Back Issues: Batman Dominates 'The Olympic Games of Space' Because Of Course He Does

From a headline at TheStar.com, dated August 20, 2012:

Nickelback’s new video stars Jason Alexander because of course it does

From the headline of an article by Kevin Fitzpatrick on ScreenCrush, dated September 26, 2012:

Sexy Thomas Edison Fights Crime in New NBC Drama, Because of Course He Does

From the headline of an article by David Colon on Brokelyn, dated November 28, 2012:

Trash Bar now has a church, because of course it does

Matches for the phrase skyrocket in 2013, and have continued to be extremely frequent up to the present.

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Conclusions

The earliest relevant occurrence of the expression "because of course it does" that I found in a series of Google searches is from early 2007. The expression began to gain wider publicity in 2010 and 2011 as ahead-of-the-curve online outlets such as A.V. Club picked it up, and 2013 (the year it really took off) it had already appeared on such websites as BlackBook, Deadspin, ScreenCrush, and Jezebel.

In 2013, major websites such as The Atlantic, the New York Times, Time magazine online, Huffington Post, and BuzzFeed had used it at least once, and the expression had clearly become a mainstream U.S. phenomenon.