GOP senator: Drones memo 'fraught with constitutional problems'

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) disputed the Obama administration's legal reasoning in a memo that outlines when the United States can carry out a lethal drone strike on an American citizen.

Lee's comments are in reference to a Department of Justice white paper NBC News obtained early in February. The memo argues that the U.S. can conduct a drone strike on an American citizen abroad provided that a U.S. intelligence official has designated the target an imminent threat, capturing the target is impossible, and the strike falls in line with international laws of wartime on the use of force.

"I really don't like the legal justification because it's not a legal justification at all," Lee said Tuesday in an interview on Laura Ingraham's radio show.

Ingraham then asked if it was constitutional for the U.S. to executive citizens abroad.

"I think it's fraught with constitutional problems," Lee said.

After NBC News published details of the memo, a number of lawmakers were quick to press the White House for more information on drone operations overseas. A bipartisan group of 11 senators sent a letter to the White House demanding more information on overseas drone strikes.

In response to the calls for more information, the White House announced it would brief members of Congress on classified details for when it can use drone strikes on U.S. citizens.

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