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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.