Fed court orders Obama administration to release memos justifying drone strikes on Americans

The Obama administration has been ordered by a federal appeals court to release a revised version of secret memos justifying the use of drones to kill American citizens suspected of terrorism overseas.

According to Politics, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the administration must provide the redacted documents, because US president Barack Obama and senior government officials have commented on the subject.

Deeming the ruling a positive development, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has also demanded the legal rationale, said that the targeted killing of American citizens by their own government should be one of the most fundamental reasons to ensure checks and balances are in place.

Grassley said in a statement that until now, the Obama administration has been hiding behind a Cliff's Notes version of the justification that gave no legal analysis for the killings.

While the administration has promised to introduce changes to its drone program, it has been trying hard to resist efforts to release documents on the legal justification for using drones to kill American citizens abroad, the report added.