2nd Circuit rules Justice Department doesn't have to disclose additional drone-strike memos
The U.S. Justice Department doesn’t have to disclose about 10 documents regarding the legal basis for targeted drone killings of noncitizens overseas, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The October decision by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was unsealed on Monday, report the New York Times and Reuters. The court ruled in consolidated Freedom of Information suits by the New York Times and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The 2nd Circuit had previously required the Justice Department to release a memo authorizing the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and suspected terrorist who died in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011. The court said the government had waived its right to keep that memo secret because officials had already revealed details of the legal analysis.
ACLU deputy legal director Jameel Jaffer called on the Justice Department to release the additional memos, despite the new ruling. “In a democracy, there should be no room for ‘secret law,’ and the courts should not play a role in perpetuating it,” he told the New York Times.
