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Brennan Vote by Senate Intelligence Panel
Mar 5th 2013, 17:15

WASHINGTON – On the eve of Tuesday afternoon's vote by the Senate Intelligence Committee on the confirmation of John O. Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the White House agreed to provide more information both on the legal basis for targeted killings and on the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans last September.

With a committee vote set for a closed session beginning at 2:30 p.m., senators will get access to all Justice Department legal opinions on the targeted killing of Americans, the committee's Democratic chairwoman, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, said in a statement. Two such opinions were briefly shared with senators before Mr. Brennan's confirmation hearing last month; it is unclear how many more memos will now be shared.

In an addition, a staff member for each senator will be now permitted for the first time to see the legal memorandums, which govern the use of drones and other weapons to kill American citizens identified as dangerous terrorists overseas. Previously, only senators themselves were permitted to read the memos, a restriction that Ms. Feinstein had strongly protested, staff members said.

One American, the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who had joined the Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, was deliberately killed in a strike in September 2011. At least three other Americans killed in strikes were not the intended targets, officials have said.

"I have reached an agreement with the White House to provide the committee access to all O.L.C. opinions related to the targeted killing of Americans in a way that allows members to fulfill their oversight responsibilities," Ms. Feinstein said, referring to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. "I am pleased the administration has made this information available. It is important for the committee to do its work and will pave the way for the confirmation of John Brennan to be CIA director."

While Ms. Feinstein has sought legal opinions governing strikes targeting non-Americans, they are still being withheld by the administration, which views them as confidential legal advice to the president.

Republicans who have pressed for more details on the Benghazi attack and the administration's response to it also have gotten additional material, officials said. Whether it will be enough to persuade some Republicans to support Mr. Brennan remained to be seen.

On Monday, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said he hoped the Senate would vote on Mr. Brennan's nomination this week but complained that Republicans were insisting on a 60-vote majority to confirm him.

"At a time when America faces so many threats abroad, it is crucial that we have a talented and dedicated individual like John Brennan leading our nation's most prominent intelligence agency," Mr. Reid said. "Yet, Republicans again and again interject politics into the confirmation process."

But some Democrats, notably Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, have also suggested that Mr. Brennan would win their votes only if the administration were more forthcoming with its secret legal opinions.

Mr. Brennan, 57, is a 25-year C.I.A. veteran who has served as President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, overseeing the expansion of targeted killing in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

While he is widely expected to win confirmation, senators of both parties have used his nomination to try to pressure the White House into disclosing information it has previously declined to give Congress.

Christopher E. Anders, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, called the promised disclosures "an important first baby step towards restoring the checks and balances between Congress and the president" but said they were not enough.

"Amazingly, the Obama administration continues to hide at least some of its legal opinions, even from the intelligence committees," Mr. Anders said. He said all members of Congress should have access to the memos on targeted killings and that redacted copies should be made public.

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