Paul has emerged as a notable critic of the administration's policy on targeted killings. Paul slates next filibuster on drones

Rand Paul is planning another filibuster on the Obama administration’s drone policy.

The Kentucky senator announced Thursday that he would filibuster President Barack Obama’s nomination of David Barron for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit because of multiple decisions he authored on the use of drones against U.S. citizens.


“I’ve read David Barron’s memos concerning the legal justification for killing an American citizen overseas without a trial or legal representation, and I am not satisfied,” Paul said in a statement. “While the president forbids me from discussing what is in the memos, I can tell you what is not in the memos.”

( PHOTOS: Highlights from Rand Paul’s 2013 filibuster)

“There is no valid legal precedent to justify the killing of an American citizen not engaged in combat,” the Republican senator continued. “In fact, one can surmise as much because the legal question at hand has never been adjudicated. Therefore, I shall not only oppose the nomination of David Barron, but will filibuster.”

Barron reportedly authored two or more classified opinions justifying the use of drones in 2011 to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born extremist.

Barron’s nomination was sent to the Senate after it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 10-8 vote.

( PHOTOS: Longest filibusters in history)

Paul has emerged as a notable critic of the administration on its policy on targeted killings. Last March, he led a filibuster of John Brennan’s nomination for CIA director, demanding that the administration explicitly declare that it could not use a drone to kill a non-combatant American citizen on U.S. soil. His filibuster went late into the night and lasted nearly 13 hours.

His speech on the Senate floor galvanized several Republicans — including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas — as well as Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. Wyden has not committed to voting for Barron’s confirmation.

In an op-ed later that month, Paul vowed to fight on to make sure “no American should be killed by a drone without first being charged with a crime.”

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