Reading Room Document
Applicability of Federal Criminal Laws and the Constitution to Contemplated Lethal Operations Against Shaykh Anwar al-Aulaqi
The opinion, which is partially redacted, considers the lawfulness of using drone strikes to kill a United States citizen. It concludes that the targeted killing of a U.S. citizen is not proscribed by statute and would not violate the Fourth or Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. This OLC opinion was obtained through litigation brought by the ACLU and the New York Times. A copy of the Second Circuit opinion holding that the OLC was obligated to disclose the opinion is available here: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/2014-06-23_ca2-revised-opinion-plus-drone-memo.pdf
The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit