AFHGAN AUTHORITIES SAY TWO GUARDS AND AT LEAST FIVE ATTACKERS WERE KILLED AFTER A TALIBAN SUICIDE BOMBER AND FIVE GUNMEN ATTACKED A GUEST HOUSE OF AN INTL AID GROUP IN CAPITAL KABUL *

ATTACKS SET OFF A SHOOTOUT THAT LASTED FOR HOURS *

THE TALIBAN QUICKLY CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY *

IT WAS THE SECOND MAJOR STRIKE IN KABUL IN JUST MORE THAN A WK *

INTL MONETARY FUND CHIEF CHRISTINE LAGARDE NAMED AS A KEY WITNESS IN AN INVESTIGATION INTO A CONTROVERSIAL PAYOFF TO A FRENCH BUSINESSMAN *

THE PAYOFF ALLEGEDLY HAPPENED WHILE SHE WAS FRANCE'S FINANCE MIN *

LAGARDE SAYS THE PARIS COURT HANDED HER THE STATUS OF "ASSISTING WITNESS" IN ITS PROBE OF A $520 MIL PAYOFF TO BUSINESS TYCOON BERNARD TAPIE *

LAGARDE COULD LATER BE CHARGED IN THE CASE *

PRES OBAMA WARNS NAVAL ACADEMY GRADUATES OF THE SERIOUSNESS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE ARMED FORCES *

IN A COMMENCEMENT SPEECH FRI IN ANNAPOLIS, MD, MR OBAMA SAID SEXUAL ASSAULT IS A CRIME THAT HAS "NO PLACE IN THE GREATEST MILITARY ON EARTH" *

SPEECH COMES IN THE MIDST OF WIDESPREAD REPORTS OF SUCH MISCONDUCT THROUGHOUT THE MILITARY *

A RECENT PENTAGON REPORT ESTIMATES UP TO 26,000 MILITARY MEMBERS MAY HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED LAST YR AND THAT THOUSANDS MORE ARE UNWILLING TO COME FORWARD *

JURY FOREMAN IN JODI ARIAS' TRIAL SAYS THE PANEL COULDN'T DECIDE WHETHER ARIAS KILLING HER EX-BOYFRIEND WARRANTED A DEATH SENTENCE *

WILLIAM ZERVAKOS SAID THE JURORS THOUGHT IT WAS UNFAIR FOR 12 AVERAGE AMERICANS TO DECIDE ARIAS' FATE *

THE SAME JURY CONVICTED ARIAS OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER ON MAY 8, IN THE 2008 KILLING OF HER EX-BOYFRIEND TRAVIS ALEXANDER *

THE JUDGE DECLARED A MISTRIAL THURSDAY AFTER THE JURY DEADLOCKED *

A NEW JURY WILL BE CHOSEN FOR A NEW PENALTY PHASE SET FOR JULY *

FED JUDGE RULES OFFICE OF SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO IN MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ, ENGAGES IN RACIAL PROFILING *

U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE MURRAY SNOW ALSO RULED FRI THAT PEOPLE STOPPED BY ARPAIO'S DEPUTIES ARE DETAINED FOR UNREASONABLY LONG PERIODS *

RULING BACKS UP ALLEGATIONS BY CRITICS SUCH AS THE ACLU THAT ARPAIO RELIES ON RACE IN ENFORCING IMMIGRATION *

ARPAIO HAS DENIED THE ALLEGATIONS *

WA GOV JAY INSLEE (D) SAYS FED OFFICIALS ARE SEARCHING FOR A TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT FOR THE I-5 BRIDGE THAT COLLAPSED INTO THE SKAGIT RIVER THURS NIGHT *

INSLEE SAYS REBUILDING THE 160-FOOT SECTION COULD TAKE MONTHS IF A REPLACEMENT CAN'T BE FOUND *

STATE OFFICIALS SAY AN OVERSIZED TRUCK CAUSED THE COLLAPSE AFTER HITTING AN OVERHEAD SPAN *

TWO VEHICLES PLUMMETED INTO THE WATER LEAVING THREE PEOPLE INJURED *

FDA RECEIVES REPORTS OF SEVEN CASES INVOLVING POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED STEROID MEDICATIONS MADE BY A PHARMACY IN NEWBERN, TN *

INJECTIONS CONTAIN THE SAME DRUG AT THE CENTER OF LAST YR'S DEADLY FUNGAL MENINGITIS OUTBREAK THAT KILLED MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE *

THE PHARMACY HAS RECALLED THE PRODUCTS PENDING AN INVESTIGATION *

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

news

BiPartisan letter from Senators Leahy and Grassley to President Obama about the targeted drone program

by Posted in: , , ,

Feb 8 2013 - 3:09 PM ET

comments

Below is the letter sent by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to President Obama.  

Note that Senator Chuck Grassley (Ranking Member) will be ON THE RECORD at 10pm tonight…so be sure to tune in or dvr his interview.

—-

Dear Mr. President:

 

In October 2011, both of us wrote to the Attorney General seeking access to any legal opinions that had been prepared by the Department of Justice regarding legal justification for the targeted killing of American citizens abroad. Last year, the Department of Justice provided members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Committee) with a confidential White Paper that addressed the lawfulness of lethal operations against U.S. citizens who are senior members of al Qaeda or associated forces. Unfortunately, this White Paper was not an adequate substitute for the underlying legal analysis that we believed had been prepared by the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), and we renewed our requests for the disclosure of those legal opinions. Earlier this week, as part of a bipartisan group of Senators, we sent a letter to you requesting that any and all OLC opinions regarding the targeted killing of American citizens abroad be disclosed to the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees of both the House and Senate.

 

We were informed last evening that you had directed the Department to provide copies of relevant OLC opinions to members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, but not this Committee. The deliberate killing of a United States citizen pursuant to a targeted operation authorized or aided by our Government raises significant constitutional and legal concerns that fall squarely within the jurisdiction of the Committee. Indeed, the analysis in the Department’s White Paper centers on core constitutional questions about the scope and application of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, as well as the possible violation of federal criminal statutes. In addition, the Committee has direct oversight jurisdiction over the Department, including OLC.

 

Our Committee plays an important role in providing congressional oversight over important national security and intelligence activities conducted by the Executive Branch, and our Members and our staff have frequently been provided access to highly classified documents. Given the important constitutional issues implicated by the targeted killing of U.S. citizens by our Government, and given our Committee’s jurisdiction over these issues and the Department, we respectfully request that you direct the Department to promptly provide our Committee with access to unredacted copies of any and all legal opinions drafted by OLC that pertain to the targeted killing of U.S. citizens abroad.

 

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your response.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

PATRICK LEAHY CHARLES E. GRASSLEY

Chairman Ranking Member

Senate Judiciary Committee Senate Judiciary Committee

 

 

=======================

 

Greta Alerts

Get Greta's Breaking News Alerts via email. Enter your email address below to sign up.

Latest Slideshow

Griff Jenkins with Samaritan's Purse volunteers