House Democrats Demand Obama Release ‘Full Legal Basis’ For Drone Strikes

[Purveyor]

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) is leading a small group of House Democrats in calling on President Barack Obama to release information regarding the Administration’s use of drone strikes.

In a letter sent Monday, Lee said a leaked Department of Justice memo showed an “increasing devolution of accountability, transparency, and Constitutional protections in U.S. counterterrorism operations.” The 16-page memo provided an outline of the Obama’s administration legal justification of targeted drone strikes against U.S. citizens.

The letter was signed by Democratic Reps. John Conyers (MI), Keith Ellison (MN), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Donna Edwards (MD), Mike Honda (CA), Rush Holt (NJ), and James McGovern (MA).

The House Democrats were particularly concerned that the memo appeared to have no defined geographic boundaries, did not identify officials with the authority to approve so-called “kill-lists,” provided a vague definition of feasible, and used a broad definition of “imminent threat.”

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/11/house-democrats-demand-obama-release-full-legal-basis-for-drone-strikes/

[OnyxCollie]

1. Remember this?

Tom Daschle-Power We Didn't Grant
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/22/AR2005122201101.html

On the evening of Sept. 12, 2001, the White House proposed that Congress authorize the use of military force to "deter and pre-empt any future acts of terrorism or aggression against the United States." Believing the scope of this language was too broad and ill defined, Congress chose instead, on Sept. 14, to authorize "all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations or persons [the president] determines planned, authorized, committed or aided" the attacks of Sept. 11. With this language, Congress denied the president the more expansive authority he sought and insisted that his authority be used specifically against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.

Just before the Senate acted on this compromise resolution, the White House sought one last change. Literally minutes before the Senate cast its vote, the administration sought to add the words "in the United States and" after "appropriate force" in the agreed-upon text. This last-minute change would have given the president broad authority to exercise expansive powers not just overseas -- where we all understood he wanted authority to act -- but right here in the United States, potentially against American citizens. I could see no justification for Congress to accede to this extraordinary request for additional authority. I refused.

Those were good times...

[Purveyor]

3. Good reference. Thanks you for posting, indeed! eom

[AnotherMcIntosh]

2. A SMALL NUMBER OF House Democrats Demand Obama Release ‘Full Legal Basis’ For Drone Strikes

Where is the rest of the Progressive Caucus?

[KoKo]

5. There have been a few articles that House Progressive Caucus

only has a few REAL Progressives...Conyers and Lee were named...I can't remember the other couple and don't have time to look up the article but if you Google or even do Site Search here on DU ...I believe someone posted about how the "House Progressive Caucus" is a misnomer for how many are really Progressive and vote that way.

Anyway...Good for Barbara Lee. When Dennis Kucinich was gerrymandered out in the last election he sent word to his supporters that Barbara Lee promised him she'd keep up the fight. So...glad to see this from her.

[Purveyor]

9. +1 EOM

[1StrongBlackMan]

4. I know ...

this is a BIG DEAL ... but can't Democrats get their timing down a little better. I mean, can we allow President Obama to get a little ahead on this fiscal thing before we throw more poo?

[KoKo]

6. How is this "throwing poo, though" Obama told us we

needed to keep up the fight because he couldn't do it alone.

How do you know he hasn't told Barbara Lee that this is what he wants to have happen but didn't blab it out there to the News Media for it to get all distorted?

[1StrongBlackMan]

7. I'll leave that to you to figure out ...

and while you're at it, compare the results of Democratic "independence" and gop lock-step. Just saying ...

[MannyGoldstein]

8. Clearly, Rand Paul stooges

Probably want positions in his cabinet.

What kind of nuts would want a legal basis, transparency, checks and balances, or any of that other meddlesome crap?