Obama Admin. To Disclose Justification For Drone Strikes On U.S. Citizens

FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2014 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. In an assertion of same-sex marriage rights, Holder is applying a landmark Supreme Court ruling to the Ju... FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2014 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. In an assertion of same-sex marriage rights, Holder is applying a landmark Supreme Court ruling to the Justice Department, announcing Saturday that same-sex spouses cannot be compelled to testify against each other, should be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly and are entitled to the same rights and privileges as federal prison inmates in opposite-sex marriages. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration plans to disclose a secret memo describing its legal justification for using drones to kill U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism overseas.

The Justice Department has decided not to appeal a court order requiring disclosure of a redacted version of the memo. That’s according to two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were authorized to discuss the matter by name.

The U.S. used a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011 to kill Anwar Al-Awlaki, an al-Qaida leader born in the U.S. Some critics complained that it was illegal for the U.S. to kill American citizens away from the battlefield without a trial.

The American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times sued under the Freedom of Information Act for the memo’s release.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for darcy darcy says:

    Arrogant bastards.

  2. “…legal justification for using drones to kill U.S. citizens…”

    We know they really mean only Republicans :wink:

  3. vote out all politicians that believe in spying on the American people. also, the nsa reform bill is crap so you may as well wait for 2015 and let the law expire. if anyone votes for the current nsa bill they are corrupt

  4. There’s no legal justification for conducting drone bombings in foreign nations that aren’t threatening the U.S. with imminent attack or currently attacking us. The international treaties signed by the U.S. outlining when war is legal make this perfectly clear. These treaties are the highest law of the land under the supremacy clause of the constitution.

    We wouldn’t accept Iran, China or Russia conducting drone bombings in foreign countries based on legal opinions rendered from their government’s lawyers.

    Democrats roundly condemned Bush administration lawyers like John Yoo for authorizing torture techniques. Democrats should likewise condemn Obama justice department lawyers for attempting to legalize illegal drone strikes.

  5. Can’t wait to hear about how disclosing the memo is going to help the terrorists.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

1 more reply

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for lamonth Avatar for darcy Avatar for verminator Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for CygnusX1isahole Avatar for seedeevee

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: