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Title: Justice Department Asserts Unreviewable Discretion to Kill US Citizens
Source: [None]
URL Source: https://www.courthousenews.com/just ... iscretion-to-kill-us-citizens/
Published: Nov 18, 2020
Author: MEGAN MINEIRO
Post Date: 2020-11-18 05:53:43 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 405
Comments: 3

Bilal Abdul Kareem, a U.S. citizen, says the U.S. government mistakenly made him a target of its killer-drone program. So far U.S. courts have been hesitant to get involved. (Photo via Reprieve)

WASHINGTON (CN) — Drawing alarm at the D.C. Circuit, a lawyer for the United States argued Monday that the government has the power to kill its citizens without judicial oversight when state secrets are involved.

“Do you appreciate how extraordinary that proposition is?” U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett asked Justice Department attorney Bradley Hinshelwood, paraphrasing his claim as giving the government the ability to “unilaterally decide to kill U.S. citizens.”

The hearing before the federal appeals court came as the government fights to hold off allegations by two journalists who say it wrongly targeted them as terrorists in Syria.

One of the journalists, U.S. citizen Bilal Abdul Kareem, says his interviews with al-Qaida-linked militants landed him on the U.S. kill list. Just in June and August 2016, Kareem says, the U.S. government targeted him five times, including one drone strike involving a U.S.-made Hellfire missile.

Though the United States has not confirmed whether Kareem or his co-plaintiff, Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, pose any such threat, it has withheld information related to their case on the basis of national security.

Arguing only on the claims brought by Kareem, the Justice Department’s Hinshelwood conceded Monday that a strike against a U.S. citizen is a serious undertaking. Where the judiciary can step in, he said, is in ensuring that the state-secrets privilege was appropriately applied.

But Kareem’s attorney, Tara Jordan Plochocki, argued the government was radically expanding sovereignty, domestically and abroad, allowed under state-secrets privilege.

“Whether that’s in a parking lot in the United States or abroad in Syria, the government has claimed — for the first time ever in this case — that it has unfettered and unreviewable discretion to kill US citizens at will,” Plochocki said.

Shrugging off Kareem’s claims as baseless speculation, the government argued the alleged airstrikes occurred at a time when Syria was wracked by civil war.

“In all of these circumstances, he’s not even the only person present, much less is there anything to suggest that he’s actually the target of any of these specific attacks,” Hinshelwood said.

The three-judge panel took seriously the defense that bombs pummeled Syria in 2016 as the conflict between the Assad regime and rebel groups roared.

U.S. Circuit Judge Karen Henderson, a George H. W. Bush appointee, said she viewed it as a “spectacular delusion of grandeur” that Kareem claims a series of U.S. missiles were aimed at him.

Expressing looser skepticism, Millett followed up saying: “Like Judge Henderson, I remember the news.” The two judges heard the case together with Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Sri Srinivasan, who like Millett is an Obama appointee.

While Plochocki did not dispute that cities like Aleppo and Idlib were subject to severe and routine bombings, she argued U.S. attacks on Syrian territory were not indiscriminate.

“These happened with eerie precisions,” the attorney argued, referring to the five alleged strikes against her client.

She later claimed the government was arguing Kareem needed to “provide the make and model of the missiles fired at him.”

“Of course, that’s not a reasonable expectation,” Plochocki said. Urging the D.C. Circuit to remand the case, she argued such evidence would come out in discovery if the state secrets privilege is lifted.

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#1. To: Ada (#0)

Bilal Abdul Kareem, a U.S. citizen

Multi-culturalism is wrongheaded. The most congenial societies are generally made up of people that have much in common and are kindred. Even then, feuds occur and people are dissatisfied with their neighbors in which case they can move to another location.

Europeans are now experiencing the very negative impact of allowing Muslims into their countries. The political deal makers at the top of the food chain offer asylum to foreigners that hate their citizens, rape their women and tear down the very society that granted them safety.

Here in America the invasion of foreigners runs rampant as well. The same media that lies to us daily about a variety of issues impacting society either sugar coat the news or exclude it altogether. When a Black gang or a group of Somalis rape a 10 year old girl we seldom even hear about it and never do we get pictures of these vile creatures.

This election cycle is an attempt by the permanently dissatisfied class of constant bitchers from top to bottom actively participating in destroying any sense of legitimacy left in the election process. The people making up the inner city metro vote counters are Blacks with a grudge, do-gooders with a guilt complex, and others that have no idea what is in store for the country should Biden and the den of snakes he's touting as his transition team are allowed to be seated.

We've heard enough of their plans to see that there will be alterations to our way of life that will shove communism and authoritarian government down our throats. We'll have a system where the productive citizens will become the new slave class forced to pay for nonsensical programs, finance student loans that are forgiven, and a new Supreme Court will happily make it all legal as soon as the left packs it with an additional staff of left leaning judges to make a majority of commies on the bench.

In my humble opinion, all things considered, multi-culturalism is trying to strangle the nation I was raised to love and protect. The government is promoting this shit-storm and has a history of lying to its citizens and or doing their evil in secret when possible.

73 Million (or many more) Americans said they wanted Trump to serve 4 more years. The left has attempted to steal these votes and have corrupted the system to the point of making this election a farce so overboard as to invalidate it completely. I know I will not accept it regardless of the cost to myself personally, and I think it could be very costly. The filth in DC has outlived its usefulness and is attempting to sell us out to foreign interlopers that will demand our support for things and agendas most of us are diametrically opposed to.

Just as we've witnessed the massive support for Trump at each and every rally across America, we've also seen how little physical support there is for Biden, except on election day, and even then we didn't "see it" because whatever massive support jumped out of the darkness to make "JoKe" Biden competitive didn't occur until we were all asleep.

This is one of those times that have occurred during my life when I have to say "fuck it" I'd rather take an ass whipping than crouch down and serve the likes of Biden or any of the sick and twisted people he might appoint or the bitch that will surely replace him. Again, should these scum accomplish the takeover of America by fraud, I'm out and will feel no obligation to go along with this bullshit.

After 4 years of lies and false accusations being used by the Democrats in an attempt to ruin Trump have failed they have now determined to cheat their way into power ignoring the will of the people. Well, the people are governed by their consent and I feel many will not consent to being governed by the Biden/Harris/Pelosi/Schumer scum.

Over the years I have witnessed a good many patriotic Americans harassed and even imprisoned for their beliefs and the standards set by our founders. I have witnessed a never ending propaganda attack on white men by the political class, and the media. There's no telling how much of this anti-white activity has negatively affected our families that has gone undetected but was surely happening.

The tree of liberty is about to be watered with the blood of American Patriots !

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. "

noone222  posted on  2020-11-18   7:12:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: noone222 (#1)

A+++ thank you!

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2020-11-18   8:22:43 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: Lod (#2)

Thanks, Jim ... I sure wish that all of my long time buddies were still alive to see this shit and address it appropriately !

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. "

noone222  posted on  2020-11-18   8:31:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


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