The Obama administration was giving lawmakers sensitive and long-sought documents Thursday that provide the legal rationale for drone strikes on Americans, in a bid to tamp down concerns ahead of the confirmation hearing for President Obama's CIA director nominee.
Concerns about the drone program have flared in the run-up to John Brennan's appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday afternoon. Unlike Chuck Hagel, the Defense secretary nominee who endured withering criticism last week from Republicans, Brennan is facing complaints largely from members of the president's own party.
Lawmakers threatened a "confrontation" earlier this week over nominees if they did not receive classified legal memos on the drones. After one Justice Department document was leaked late Monday, the administration on Wednesday agreed to hand over the rest of the rationale.
"Today, as part of the president's ongoing commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters, the president directed the Department of Justice to provide the congressional intelligence committees access to classified Office of Legal Counsel advice related to the subject of the Department of Justice White Paper," an administration official said.
It's unclear whether that will assuage lawmakers' concerns, and spare Brennan some heated questioning later in the day about the so-called "kill list." With lawmakers set to receive the memos Thursday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she was "pleased" with the decision.
"It is critical for the committee's oversight function to fully understand the legal basis for all intelligence and counterterrorism operations," she said.
Brennan has been under fire for his support of the controversial drone program. Brennan also faces continued questions about his views on Bush-era interrogation tactics. Republicans, meanwhile, have lingering questions for Brennan on his knowledge of high-profile leaks last year.
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney defended the nominee.
"The president believes that John Brennan is uniquely qualified as a 25-year veteran of intelligence work, a 25-year veteran of the CIA, to lead that agency," Carney said. "Mr. Brennan brings, I think, not only a vast amount of experience, but a significant perspective on the battles that we wage in this effort and the right way to conduct them."
Carney said Obama wants the Senate to confirm him "expeditiously," but lawmakers may be reluctant to do so.
Before the administration agreed to release the memos, a bipartisan group of 11 senators on Monday wrote a letter to Obama asking for "any and all legal opinions" that describe the basis for the authority to "deliberately kill American citizens." Several of the authors of the drone letter sit on the committee that will grill Brennan on Thursday.
In a not-so-subtle threat, they wrote: "The executive branch's cooperation on this matter will help avoid an unnecessary confrontation that could affect the Senate's consideration of nominees for national security positions."
At the Senate Democrats' annual retreat Wednesday, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., further threatened to "pull out all the stops" to get the classified legal memos that justify the killing of Americans without judicial review. In an NBC interview Thursday, Wyden called the pending release an encouraging first step.
Brennan is described as the public face and architect of the targeted-killing program, which has expanded under Obama. The ACLU, a traditional supporter of Obama, is one of the program's chief critics.
Under Brennan, the American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, considered a top Al Qaeda operative, became the first American successfully targeted for death under the program. Two weeks later, his 16-year-old son was also killed in a drone strike, in which the teen was described as collateral damage.
At the daily briefing, the White House was pressed to respond to concerns about the administration's authority.
"I think it's fair to say that far fewer civilians lose their lives in an effort to go after senior leadership and Al Qaeda along the lines of what we are discussing here as opposed to an effort to invade a country with hundreds of thousands of troops and take cities and towns," Carney said.
Renewed questions come after the Justice Department document surfaced describing the administration's drone-attack authority. The memo says it is legal for the U.S. government to authorize the killing of Americans overseas if they are suspected of being senior Al Qaeda leaders engaged in efforts to kill Americans.
On this point, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee agreed.
"When an individual has joined Al Qaeda -- the organization responsible for the murder of thousands of Americans -- and actively plots future attacks against U.S. citizens, soldiers and interests around the world, the U.S. government has both the authority and the obligation to defend the country against that threat," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said in a statement.
Brennan will also be pressed on his statements about the CIA's enhanced interrogation program -- which included waterboarding. In an interview with CBS News in 2007, Brennan defended the program as one that has produced information that's been "used against the real hardcore terrorists."
Brennan has since apparently taken a position against the program and claimed he raised concerns while at the agency.
A former deputy director at the agency could not confirm, in an interview with Fox News, that Brennan raised concerns with him. Still, the official, John E. McLaughlin, said he supports Brennan's confirmation and he should be taken at his word.
"This was not a program that would normally be discussed between John and myself, but if he said he talked to colleagues about it, and expressed reservations, I believe him, because this is a very straight-forward, honest guy," McLaughlin told Fox News.
Meanwhile, Feinstein has completed a 6,000-page classified report on the CIA program. Those familiar with its findings tell Fox News it concludes the agency lied about the program's effectiveness - a charge denied by those who ran the program.
Brennan may be put in the tricky spot of explaining whether he agrees with the report's findings.
As the intelligence committee holds the Brennan hearing, the Senate Armed Services Committee is still weighing how to proceed on the Hagel nomination. Some senators are urging a delay in the confirmation vote, as they seek additional answers to concerns about his background. The chairman of that committee said Thursday he would postpone a vote.
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