Secret memo outlines justification of using Predator drones against American citizens. (Photo/Wikimedia)

Inundated with pesky Freedom of Information Act requests by the likes of the New York Times and the American Civil Liberties Union, the Justice Department is set to finally release a secret memo that outlines the legal justification for targeting and killing American terrorism suspects with drones. The move comes as a coalition of senators have threatened to block a key Obama nomination to the federal appears court unless the document was brought to light.

The nomination in question is David J. Barron, who is one of the authors of the legal document, according to the Washington Post.

The Obama administration admitted it used drones to kill four U.S. citizens in Yemen last year, a targeted effort to destabilize high-ranking al-Qaeda leadership. But, hey, it was all on the up-on-up, according to a secret memo written by a guy just nominated for a key judgeship by an administration that really, really loves to use drones. A lot.

You can read more at the Huffington Post and the Washington Post.

Reach Editor-in-Chief Will Federman here. And follow him on Twitter.