Overview
- Filed in Manhattan federal court, the ACLU, NYCLU, and Center for Constitutional Rights ask a judge to order immediate disclosure of the Office of Legal Counsel opinion and related records from DOJ, State, and the Pentagon.
- Plaintiffs say they turned to court after a Oct. 15 Freedom of Information Act request for the memo and supporting materials drew no response.
- News reports cited in the filings say the U.S. has carried out at least 22 strikes since early September, killing at least 87 people, with a Sept. 2 follow-up strike on survivors drawing legal scrutiny.
- Senior military leaders recently briefed Congress on the operations, with Republicans largely defending the follow-up strikes and Democrats voicing continued concern.
- A bipartisan group of former federal ethics officials asked DOJ to open an internal investigation into the legal opinion, and draft NDAA language could require unedited footage of all strikes or trigger travel budget cuts if not provided.