Americans Not Engaged in Combat Can’t Be Killed, Holder Says

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the president doesn’t have “the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil.”

Holder commented today in a letter to Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, who filibustered against John Brennan’s nomination to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Paul has questioned whether the administration might use armed drones to attack an American suspected of terrorism on U.S. soil.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net