Obama team ponders next move in drone memo fight
![Anwar al-Awlaki](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/66e567da19e09b7939aa2e36c5db29a218a622f1/c=0-188-2471-1576/local/-/media/USATODAY/theOval/2014/04/22//1398171593000-AP-Yemen-Drone-Strikes-001.jpg?width=660&height=371&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
The Obama administration has to decide whether to release key portions of a memo on drone strikes or take the issue to the Supreme Court.
A federal appeals court said Monday that the government must release parts of a memo citing the legal rationale for drone strikes that target Americans, specifically terrorism suspect Anwar al-Awlaki during a 2011 attack in Yemen.
Appeals judges ruled in favor of a freedom of information request by The New York Times.
The Obama administration has not said whether it will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Reports the Times:
"The unanimous three-judge panel, reversing a lower court decision, said the government had waived its right to keep the analysis secret in light of numerous public statements by administration officials and the Justice Department's release of a 'white paper' offering a detailed analysis of why targeted killings were legal."