The Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)’s guidance and other related documents regarding President Trump’s lethal strikes on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to confirm the existence (or nonexistence) of such guidance. But the same day, in a different hearing, Charles Young, who is nominated to serve as the U.S. Army’s general counsel, acknowledged the existence of this opinion in an exchange with Senator Jeanne Shaheen, explaining that the “opinion was derived through an interagency lawyers working group” including representatives from the White House and several executive branch agencies. Public reporting also indicates that the OLC has issued an opinion, and that it asserts sweeping, unprecedented presidential authority to use military force against people alleged to be affiliated with drug cartels.