Now that Osama bin Laden is dead the inevitable questions arise as to whether the killing was legal or not? Was it? Do we care? Has the US stance on such matters changed?

Osama bin laden

Osama bin Laden was killed, not captured. If he had been taken into custody, what followed would have been the most complex and wrenching legal proceeding in American history. The difficulties would have been endless: military tribunal or criminal trial? Abroad—at Guantánamo?—or inside the United States? Would bin Laden have been granted access to the evidence against him? Who would represent him?

What if he represented himself, and tried to use the trial as a propaganda platform? All those questions faded into irrelevance with bin Laden’s death on Sunday.

Still, it’s worth noting that the apparently universal acclaim for the killing represents a major shift in American perceptions of such actions. Following the revelations of C.I.A. assassination plots by the Church Committee, in the nineteen-seventies, President Ford issued Executive Order 11905 (later 12333), which stated,

No employee of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination.

The term “assassination” was not defined, nor was it in subsequent orders signed by Presidents Carter and Reagan.

After the September 11th attacks, President Bush more or less acknowledged that the ban on assassination did not apply to bin Laden or other perpetrators of terrorism. Presidents Clinton and Bush issued secret findings that made apparently clear that such assassinations were not permissible. In March, Harold Koh, the legal adviser in the State Department, said in a speech,


FORMER SUPERVISOR AT U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES CONVICTED OF BRIBERY AND FRAUD CHARGES

May 3 at 4:35 p.m. PDT

LOS ANGELES – A former official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and his son were found guilty this afternoon of federal corruption charges.

Fernando Jacobs, 72, of Upland, who was a supervisory immigration services officer with USCIS, and his son, Patrick Anthony Jacobs, 44, of Ontario, were each convicted of conspiracy, bribery and honest services wire fraud. Fernando Jacobs was also convicted of visa fraud. Fernando Jacobs was found guilty of a total of seven counts, while his son was convicted of six counts.

The evidence presented during the two-week trial in United States District Court showed that Fernando Jacobs accepted a $1,500 bribe in exchange for helping an alien obtain legal permanent residency. Fernando Jacobs accessed the alien’s confidential immigration file and provided information to the alien seeking status in the United States.

The evidence also showed that Fernando Jacobs and his son engaged in a scheme to defraud USCIS of Fernando Jacobs’ honest services. The scheme involved the pair using Fernando Jacobs’ authority and official position to enrich themselves by receiving payments in return for expediting immigration case files, obtaining and providing immigration information from Department of Homeland Security immigration databases, and obtaining and providing I-551 stamps that authorize aliens to travel to and from the United States. As part of the scheme, Fernando Jacobs fraudulently procured passport stamps for two Mexican nationals that allowed them to travel to and from the United States.

Fernando Jacobs faces a statutory maximum sentence of 110 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on August 8 by United States District Judge George H. King. Patrick Anthony Jacobs faces a statutory maximum sentence of 100 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on the same date.

The jury that convicted Fernando Jacobs on the seven felony counts today also failed to reach a verdict on three additional bribery counts. Fernando Jacobs retired from USCIS in January 2010. The jury was also unable to reach verdicts on three counts against Patrick Anthony Jacobs.

A third defendant who went to trial was acquitted on some counts, while the jury was unable to reach a decision on other counts.

The case against Fernando and Patrick Jacobs was investigated by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.

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