This dispute goes to the fundamental nature of our democracy, to the relationship among the branches of government and to their responsibility to the public....

[Disturbing:]the twisted logic of the administration’s lawyers laid out in black and white. It had the air of a legal justification written after the fact for a policy decision that had already been made...

The white paper “is a confusing blend of self-defense and law of war concepts and doesn’t clearly explain whether there is a different standard for killing a senior Al Qaeda leader depending on whether he is a citizen,” said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies. “Its due process analysis is especially weak.”

The memo could and should have been released months ago....

We knew Mr. Obama and his lawyers believed he has that power under the Constitution and federal law. We also knew that he utterly rejects the idea that Congress or the courts have any right to review such a decision in advance, or even after the fact.

To many, this looks like a huge violation of the fundamental rights of citizens and of turning our three branches of government into dust... with a King President who can judge which Americans he can kill.