EPIC – “The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today made public the legal analysis justifying the Administration’s controversial “targeted killing” drone program. The action follows an earlier ruling by the federal appeals court in New York Times v. Department of Justice. The government had argued that this memo could not be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act because it was a privileged “deliberative” document. But the plaintiffs explained that the government relied on the analysis to defend the program and that it operated as secret law. EPIC filed an amicus brief, supported by seven open government organization, arguing that under the FOIA such a legal opinion by the Justice Department cannot be a deliberative documents. The federal appeals court agreed, and has now released the opinion to the public. Last week, in EPIC v. NSA the Department of Justice released to EPIC NSPD-54, the President Directive concerning cybersecurity. For more information, see EPIC: New York Times v. DOJ and EPIC v. DOJ – Warrantless Wiretapping Program.”

• Via the ACLU – The memo is at: aclu.org/national-security/anwar-al-aulaqi-foia-request-olc-memo; 
• The court’s opinion is at: aclu.org/national-security/anwar-al-aulaqi-foia-request-opinion
• An ACLU analysis of key sections of the memo will be online later at: aclu.org/national-security/anwar-al-awlaki-foia-request
• More background on the case is at: aclu.org/blog/national-security/drone-memo-cometh