Senators could soon face a vote on Harvard Law Professor David J. Barron — the author of legal opinions backing the Obama administration’s drone policy — to be a federal appeals court judge.  

“I’m going to try to do it soon,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday. “We got some complaints yesterday, people hadn’t had the time to go downstairs and spend a half hour reading the memos. So I’m sure that they, if they need more time, we’ll get ’em more time.”  

“I went down there this morning. I ran into several other senators there, so they’re working their way through reading the memo,” the Nevada Democrat said.  

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has contested the continued secrecy surrounding the legal justification for targeted killing of American citizens using drones, calling for public release. Barron had served as acting assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel.  

Asked if senators were getting access to all of the legal opinions and advice, Reid said he thought so, indicating the existence of two documents in the secure area of the Capitol complex for review prior to voting on Barron’s confirmation to a seat on the First Circuit Court of Appeals.  

“As far as I know, they’re down there. I’ve read them, there’s two of them,” Reid said.  

Related:

Post-Nuclear Senate: Rand Paul Can’t Slow Nomination Tied to Drone Policy


Leahy, Grassley Weigh in on Barron Nomination