Senate confirms David Barron to be federal judge

[ProSense]

Senate confirms David Barron to be federal judge

By Adam Serwer

The former Justice Department official who co-authored a legal memo justifying the use of lethal force against American citizens suspected of terrorism abroad will soon take his seat on the federal bench.

The Senate voted 53-45 Thursday, along party lines, to confirm David Barron, who was nominated to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

As an official in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, charged with giving legal advice to the executive branch, Barron co-authored the legal memos justifying the use of lethal force against slain extremist preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, an American killed in a 2011 drone strike in Yemen. Administration officials said he was a member of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Barron’s role in crafting the memo became an obstacle on the way to his confirmation, as civil liberties groups and senators raised objections over White House secrecy surrounding its targeted killing policy.

The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter weeks ago urging senators not to vote on Barron’s nomination until the White House shared any memos authored by Barron with the full Senate. At that point, only senators on the intelligence and judiciary committees had seen memos related to the use of lethal force against U.S. citizen terrorism suspects abroad, and only because of objections raised last year over Obama’s nominee for CIA director. The White House ultimately agreed to share the memos related to the use of force against American citizens with the Senate.

- more -

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/david-barron-confirmed

Roll call: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00162

[OnyxCollie]

1. The assassination enabler gets his reward.

[Cha]

2. thank you, ProSense..