Posted on 03/05/2013 12:10:57 PM PST by Seizethecarp
On the eve of Tuesday afternoon’s vote by the Senate Intelligence Committee on the confirmation of John O. Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the White House agreed to provide more information both on the legal basis for targeted killings and on the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans last September.
With a committee vote set for a closed session beginning at 2:30 p.m., senators will get access to all Justice Department legal opinions on the targeted killing of Americans, the committee’s Democratic chairwoman, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, said in a statement. Two such opinions were briefly shared with senators before Mr. Brennan’s confirmation hearing last month; it is unclear how many more memos will now be shared.
In an addition, a staff member for each senator will be now permitted for the first time to see the legal memorandums, which govern the use of drones and other weapons to kill American citizens identified as dangerous terrorists overseas. Previously, only senators themselves were permitted to read the memos, a restriction that Ms. Feinstein had strongly protested, staff members said.
One American, the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who had joined the Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, was deliberately killed in a strike in September 2011. At least three other Americans killed in strikes were not the intended targets, officials have said.
“I have reached an agreement with the White House to provide the committee access to all O.L.C. opinions related to the targeted killing of Americans in a way that allows members to fulfill their oversight responsibilities,” Ms. Feinstein said, referring to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. “I am pleased the administration has made this information available."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
More drone and Benghazi information to be released by White House (likely still redacted, of course).
Is this data provided with plenty of minutes to the actual vote so that they can be quickly speed-read? Or, does the data come after, and the vote has to happen to find out what is in it?
What about Brennan’s war in North Africa on behalf of the MB and against AQ??? What about his sending weapons to Syria via Benghazi???
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