Senate to approve David Barron for judge, the author who justified drone murders
The decision to release documents detailing the controversial legal logic behind the assassination of an American with a drone is imminent as the Senate votes to approve its author to judgeship.
President Obama’s nomination of Harvard professor and former Justice Department official David Barron to sit on the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston will be the catalyst for the public to understand the justification of using a drone to execute US-born Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen in 2011, without a trial. Another drone strike, two weeks later, killed al-Awlaki’s 16-year-old son, a US citizen.
Senators voted 52 to 43 to advance the nomination Barron on Wednesday and the final confirmation vote is expected on Thursday.
Barron authored top-secret memos, performing the juridical legwork to justify the drone killings. Robert Gibbs shocked followers of the story when he said that the teen “should have had a more responsible father.”
No one appears to be defending al-Awlaki, but rather, questioning the decision and lack of a trial for an American.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul wrote in a prepared statement on Tuesday, in continued protest of Barron’s nomination, “I rise today to say that there is no legal precedent for killing American citizens not directly involved in combat.”