I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6010 

To prohibit the extrajudicial killing of United States citizens, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2010 

Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

STARK, Mr. ELLISON, and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence 

(Permanent Select), and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary 

and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prohibit the extrajudicial killing of United States citizens, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) On January 27, 2010, The Washington 

6 Post revealed that United States citizens have been 

7 included on lists maintained by the Central IntelVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:08 Aug 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6010.IH H6010

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1 ligence Agency (CIA) and the Joint Special Oper2 ations Command (JSOC) to be assassinated. 

3 (2) The January 27 Washington Post article 

4 reported that the JSOC and CIA maintain lists of 

5 individuals deemed ‘‘High Value Targets’’ and 

6 ‘‘High Value Individuals’’, whom they seek to kill or 

7 capture, that the lists currently include United 

8 States citizens, and that the President has author9 ized military operations with the express under10 standing that a United States citizen may be killed. 

11 (3) Admiral Dennis C. Blair, then the Director 

12 of National Intelligence, in testimony before the 

13 House Select Committee on Intelligence on February 

14 3, 2010, confirmed the policy of including United 

15 States citizens on such lists, stating that ‘‘a decision 

16 to use lethal force against a U.S. citizen must get 

17 special permission’’ before the targeting of a United 

18 States citizen can be granted and that ‘‘being a U.S. 

19 citizen will not spare an American from getting as20 sassinated by military or intelligence operatives over21 seas if the individual is working with terrorists and 

22 planning to attack fellow Americans.’’ 

23 (4) The Obama administration has publicly au24 thorized the extrajudicial killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki, 

25 a United States citizen born in New Mexico who is 


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1 accused of involvement in terrorist organizations 

2 abroad, the first confirmed United States citizen to 

3 be added to a CIA list of targets for capture or kill4 ing. 

5 (5) According to an article published in The 

6 Nation in November 2009, the private security con7 tractor Blackwater Worldwide, now Xe Services, is 

8 intimately involved with the targeted assassination 

9 programs run by the CIA and JSOC in Pakistan. 

10 (6) Department of Defense Instruction 

11 1100.22, issued on April 12, 2010, states that ‘‘se12 curity is inherently governmental’’ and that the 

13 ‘‘U.S. Government has exclusive responsibility for 

14 discretionary decisions concerning the appropriate, 

15 measured use of combat power, including the offen16 sive use of destructive or deadly force on behalf of 

17 the United States’’, particularly in operations that 

18 have virtually no transparency, accountability, or 

19 oversight. 

20 (7) United States Attorney General Eric J. 

21 Holder recognized that the Department of Justice 

22 has successfully prosecuted many terrorism defend23 ants in Federal courts, stating on Friday, November 

24 13, 2009, that ‘‘for over two hundred years, our na25 tion has relied on a faithful adherence to the rule of 


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1 law to bring criminals to justice . . . Once again we 

2 will ask our legal system to rise to that challenge, 

3 and I am confident it will answer the call with fair4 ness and justice’’. 

5 (8) Executive Order 12333 (46 Fed. Reg. 

6 59941; relating to United States intelligence activi7 ties), issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, 

8 stated, ‘‘No person employed by or acting on behalf 

9 of the United States Government shall engage in, or 

10 conspire to engage in, assassination’’. 

11 (9) Executive Order 11905 (41 Fed. Reg. 7703; 

12 relating to United States foreign intelligence activi13 ties), issued by President Gerald Ford in 1976, stat14 ed, ‘‘No employee of the United States Government 

15 shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political 

16 assassination’’. 

17 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) due process of law is a fundamental prin20 ciple in the United States Constitution, the United 

21 States has a commitment to the principles included 

22 in the Bill of Rights, and no United States citizen, 

23 regardless of location, can be ‘‘deprived of life, lib24 erty, property, without due process of law’’, as stat25 ed in Article XIV of the Constitution; 


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1 (2) the participation in, or planning of activi2 ties, by the United States Government that result in 

3 the extrajudicial killing of a United States citizen 

4 undermines the rule of law and the moral standing 

5 of the United States in the world; 

6 (3) the United States and other responsible na7 tions have a vital interest in upholding the rule of 

8 law; 

9 (4) the authority granted to the President in 

10 the Authorization for Use of Military Force (50 

11 U.S.C. 1541 note), following the terrorist attacks of 

12 September 11, 2001, is not limitless; 

13 (5) this authority has been used by the Execu14 tive Branch to circumvent the role of Congress as a 

15 co-equal branch of Government, to justify holding 

16 prisoners indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay, for mass 

17 domestic spying on United States citizens in viola18 tion of their most basic constitutional rights, and to 

19 use lethal force against United States citizens 

20 abroad who are believed to participate in terrorist 

21 activities absent judicial review; 

22 (6) the notion that the constitutional rights of 

23 one citizen can be revoked to protect the constitu24 tional rights of other citizens should be rejected; 


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1 (7) the use of extrajudicial force against a cit2 izen of the United States that is outside of the inter3 nationally recognized battlefields of Iraq and Af4 ghanistan constitutes a violation of the law of armed 

5 conflict; and 

6 (8) it is in the best interest of the United 

7 States to respect the rule of law and set the example 

8 for upholding the principles of international and do9 mestic law. 

10 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON THE EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLING OF 

11 UNITED STATES CITIZENS. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION.—No one, including the President, 

13 may instruct a person acting within the scope of employ14 ment with the United States Government or an agent act15 ing on behalf of the United States Government to engage 

16 in, or conspire to engage in, the extrajudicial killing of 

17 a United States citizen. 

18 (b) REPORT ON UNITED STATES CITIZENS ON TAR19 GETED ASSASSINATION LISTS.—Not later than 7 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

21 shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees 

22 a report on the identity of each United States citizen that 

23 is on the list of the Joint Special Operations Command 

24 or the Central Intelligence Agency as ‘‘high value individ25 uals’’ or ‘‘high value targets’’. 


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1 (c) ASSURANCES TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 7 

2 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi3 dent shall submit to the congressional intelligence commit4 tees a written assurance that no United States citizens 

5 are being added to the list of the Joint Special Operations 

6 Command or the Central Intelligence Agency as ‘‘high 

7 value individuals’’ or ‘‘high value targets’’. 

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘congressional intelligence com11 mittees’’ means— 

12 (A) the Permanent Select Committee on 

13 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

14 and 

15 (B) the Select Committee on Intelligence 

16 of the Senate. 

17 (2) EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLING.—The term 

18 ‘‘extrajudicial killing’’— 

19 (A) means a premeditated and intentional 

20 use of lethal force against a United States cit21 izen; and 

22 (B) does not include— 

23 (i) the use of lethal force against a 

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1 priate tribunal consistent with due process 

2 of law; 

3 (ii) the use of lethal force against a 

4 United States citizen who is directly par5 ticipating in hostilities in a zone of active 

6 armed conflict and the United States is a 

7 party to such conflict; and 

8 (iii) the use of lethal force against a 

9 United States citizen that is authorized for 

10 law enforcement personnel under certain 

11 circumstances, including self-defense, de12 fense of others, and enabling the release of 

13 hostages. 

Æ 


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