2 journalists sue President Trump over allegedly being placed erroneously on a drone-strike 'kill list'


An Al Jazeera reporter and a Syria-based freelance journalist are suing President Trump and other U.S. officials for allegedly maintaining a drone-strike "kill list" with their names erroneously included, Politico reports.
Ahmad Zaidan served as the Al Jazeera Islamabad bureau chief and conducted a series of interviews with Osama bin Laden; files leaked by Edward Snowden show U.S. officials claim Zaidan is a member of al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Bilal Kareem is a U.S. citizen reporting from Syria, and he alleges he has "narrowly avoided being killed by five separate air strikes" in the past year.
The suit "[contends] that [Zaidan and Kareem] were erroneously placed on the 'kill list' during the Obama administration and that Trump has illegally maintained that designation," Politico writes. "The suit also alleges that Trump has loosened some of the safeguards the previous administration placed on the program."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Both men deny association with terrorist groups in their suit and claim they are not legal targets under the Authorization for Use of Military Force. "This is a very deliberate process that needs to give some access to people who deny they should be included," the journalist's lawyer, Jeffrey Robinson, told Politico.
A similar case in 2010 did not have promising results. The father of alleged al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Anwar Al-Awlaki brought a case challenging Al-Awlaki's placement on a kill list only to have it dismissed. Al-Awlaki was killed in a CIA drone strike the next year, and his 16-year-old son was killed two weeks later in another drone strike, although the U.S. claimed the son was not the intended target. Al-Awlaki's 8-year-old daughter was later killed in a January raid in Yemen ordered by President Trump.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Can US tourism survive Trump's policies?
Today's Big Question The tourist economy is 'heading in the wrong direction'
-
September's books tell of friendship in middle age, teachers versus fascists, and Covid psychosis
the week recommends September books include Angela Flournoy's 'The Wilderness,' Randi Weingarten's 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' and Patricia Lockwood's 'Will There Ever Be Another You'
-
'Total rat eradication in New York has been deemed impossible'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirements
Speed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, Baltimore
Speed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer