Responding to pressure from lawmakers Wednesday night, on the even of John Brennan’s confirmation hearing to become the next CIA Director Thursday, the White House ordered the Justice Department to release two legal memoranda justifying the killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. Administration officials had refused to acknowledge the existence of the documents until this week, when NBC News obtained a “white paper” referring to the legal memoranda. Nia-Malika Henderson, Carrie Budoff Brown, and Michael Crowley join us to discuss the administration’s decision and its implications on Brennan’s hearing.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton joins us to talk about immigration, just days after President Obama’s speech in Las Vegas and summit with Democratic leaders on the issue.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio is set to deliver the republican rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union Address next week, and Politico is out with “5 ways Marco Rubio is not your grandfather’s republican.” We’ll talk it over with strategists Steve Elmendorf and Robert Traynham.
Plus, Kirk Noble Bloodsworth, the first inmate to be sentenced to death and then exonerated by DNA evidence twenty years ago, is here to tell his story.
And don’t miss Ericho Communications CEO Eric Yaverbaum, here to discuss the best and worst sides of politicians taking to Twitter.
MS NOW staff