Due process just ain’t what it used to be
by digby
Mark Ambinder succinctly sums up tonight’s Isikoff scoop on targeted killing:
Even if the person is NOT actively planning terrorist attacks against the US, because of the nature of terrorist attacks in general, merely his membership in an organization that IS planning those attacks meets the requisite definition of imminence.
So, basically, imminence does not mean imminent. And membership in Al Qaeda is seen as tantamount to being in a car when someone decides to shoot someone on the street, even if the other occupant had no knowledge beforehand that the drive-by shooter would act. Accessory to murder, drone edition.
Also too, yes “due process” is now officially redefined to mean when a “high level official” in the White House decides something. Whither William Blackstone.
It never fails to amaze me how people will insist that the Presidency is a powerless office with no ability to do pretty much anything. And then there’s this.
For a more thorough report, Emptywheel will have the goods tomorrow.
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