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Senators ask Obama for legal opinions OKing drone strikes

A bipartisan group of 11 senators is appealing directly to President Barack Obama to give lawmakers his administration's legal justification for using armed drones or other counterterrorism operations to kill American citizens.

The eight Democrats and three Republicans are also making a not-so-veiled threat that the nominations of officials like CIA director-designate John Brennan and perhaps even Defense Secretary-designate Chuck Hagel could be held up if Obama doesn't fork over the classified memos.

"We ask that you direct the Justice Department to provide Congress, specifically the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, with any and all legal opinions that lay out the executive branch's official understanding of the President's authority to deliberately kill American citizens," the 11 senators wrote in a letter sent to Obama Monday (and posted here). "The executive branch's cooperation on this matter will help avoid an unnecessary confrontation that could affect the Senate's consideration of nominees for national security positions."

The senators' missive notes that in a May 2009 speech, Obama seemed to endorse the idea that Congress should be permitted to get such information even if the public is denied it.

"Whenever we cannot release certain information to the public for valid national security reasons, I will insist that there is oversight of my actions—by Congress or the courts," Obama said in remarks at the National Archives.

The Justice Department and other government agencies have rebuffed lawmakers' prior requests for such opinions. Last month, a federal judge in New York rejected Freedom of Information Act lawsuits the New York Times and the American Civil Liberties Union brought trying to force disclosure of the same legal memoranda.

The Obama Administration has also argued strenuously against any role for the courts in overseeing the use of lethal force against Americans, even though wiretapping U.S. nationals anywhere in the world requires some authorization from the judiciary branch.

White House spokesmen had no immediate reply to a request for comment on the letter, which was signed by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Al Franken (D- Minn.)

Wyden signaled a few weeks ago, in another letter, that he intends to make the legal issues surrounding the use of lethal force against Americans a central issue at Brennan's confirmation hearing. That hearing is now set for Thursday afternoon.

In September 2011, a drone strike in Yemen killed Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Anwar Al-Awlaki, who was a U.S. citizen. The strike was reportedly carried out by the U.S. Other Americans, including Al-Awlaki's teenage son, have reportedly been killed in drone attacks executed by the U.S. However, the Americans killed in those strikes are believed to have been collateral casualties and not the intended targets.