A memo will be made public later today that is reported to outline a legal justification for drone strikes that killed a terrorist who was an American citizen
As reported today on Al Jazeera English,
“An official told Al Jazeera that the Department of Justice has decided not to appeal a court order requiring disclosure of a redacted version of the document under the Freedom of Information Act.
The decision to release the documents comes a day before the Senate is to vote on advancing President Barack Obama’s nomination of the memo’s author, Harvard professor and former Justice Department official David Barron, to sit on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., had vowed to attempt to block Barron’s confirmation with a filibuster if the documents were not made public. Paul issued a statement Tuesday saying he still opposes Barron’s nomination.
Wednesday’s expected vote would allow the Senate to move ahead with a final vote on Barron on Thursday. “I think we’ll be OK,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said earlier Tuesday.
Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al-Qaeda leader born in the United States, was killed after being targeted by a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. Some legal scholars and human rights activists complained that it was illegal for the U.S. to kill American citizens away from the battlefield without a trial.”
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