The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled that the Obama administration must disclose the legal basis of its use of armed drones to assassinate American citizens overseas. The targeted-killing program was begun by former President George W. Bush and expanded by President Barack Obama to include targets that are American citizens.
The Obama administration — including Obama himself — had steadfastly argued that its legal rationale for the program is a national security secret. The court ruled, however, that officials had waived the secrecy argument when they discussed the program publicly. Judge Jon O. Newman, writing for the three-judge panel, was succinct:
“Whatever protection the legal analysis might once have had has been lost by virtue of public statements of public officials at the highest levels and official disclosure of the DOJ White Paper.”
Judge Jon O. Newman’s unanimous Second US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Obama administration must disclose the legal basis of its assassination program.
At this point it’s unclear if the Obama administration is claiming any legal foundation for assassinations other than the Justice Department’s 16-page justification memo published by Michael Isikoff of NBC News in February 2013. This is the document to which Newman refers as the DOJ White Paper.