Department of Justice (DOJ)
353 Articles
New Court Orders Signal More Drone Documents Are on the Way
For more than four years of Freedom of Information Act litigation concerning the government’s targeted-killing program, the government managed to avoid releasing a single document…
You Can’t Have an “Associated Force” with No Core
There has been lots of commentary already on the newly-released (but heavily-redacted) OLC opinion, so I’ll focus mine on a key point I haven’t yet seen made. The OLC memo…
The OLC’s Drone Memo and International Law’s Ascendance
The long-awaited release of the redacted July 16, 2010 OLC memo is anticlimactic in important respects. Much is still unknown to the point that it is difficult, if not impossible,…
On the Benefits of Transparency: Why So Long to Disclose Drone Memo?
Monday’s release of the previously secret July 2010 Justice Department memo laying out the legal case for killing US citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, has sparked a wide range of reactions,…
Reflections on What the Drone Memo Does and Doesn’t Say
There is already a lot of commentary on the OLC drone memo, and likely more to come. Here, I just want to highlight three key issues that should be part of the mix: #1: Issues…
The Constitutional Question the Drone Memo Didn’t—and Couldn’t—Answer
Yesterday’s release of the Office of Legal Counsel’s “drone memo” (which, at some point, we should stop referring to in the singular) has provoked an understandable…
DOJ OLC Targeted Killing Memo Released
This morning the 2nd Circuit published a redacted version of the long-sought Department of Justice OLC memo that authorized the killing of U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki. We’ve…
Backgrounder for Release of OLC’s Targeted Killing Memo
As Jameel discussed in an important post—“The Drone Memo Cometh”—the Second Circuit appears poised to publish the Office of Legal Counsel’s memorandum on the targeted…
The Drone Memo Cometh
“Severe Clear,” a project by artist David Birkin. Skywriting appears over New York City in a celestial “Glomar” response. For more, see Birkin’s post here. In…
Interpretation and Retaliation in the Obama Administration
Caitlin Hayden’s statement last week on “why it was lawful” to exchange five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo for Sergeant Bergdahl, “notwithstanding the notice requirement…
David Barron and the OTHER missing memos
David Barron was just confirmed to the First Circuit. To secure that vote, the Administration announced it would not appeal the Second Circuit’s order to turn over a redacted…
Lavabit’s Owner Goes Public: His Legal Ordeal Makes For Bad Law
I’ve written several times here about the Department of Justice’s efforts to force secure email provider Lavabit to turn over its encryption keys. The DOJ wanted transactional…