Wyden Sends Obama a Letter Asking When the CIA Can Kill Americans

Sen. Ron Wyden
By AARON MESH

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden sent a letter yesterday to President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. The letter asks for the secret legal opinions that say when the president can kill Americans with drones.

That letter is getting a fair share of attention. 

Wyden, a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has been battling for years to learn the details of the CIA's drone strikes on American citizens deemed enemy combatants. This time, he's asking John Brennen—the White House's top counterterrorism adviser—for the Justice Department's legal opinions upholding the lawfulness of those strikes, and a list of countries where strikes have been carried out on Americans.

The Atlantic has the best rundown of what Wyden is doing, and why it matters. 

But you should also read the letter itself, which concludes:

"I believe that every American has the right to know when their government believes it is allowed to kill them."

WWeek 2015

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