An Associated Press story published Monday cites unnamed U.S. government officials saying the Obama administration is considering its options for assassinating an American citizen it accuses of being involved in terrorism.

According to AP, “one U.S. official said the Defense Department was divided over whether the man”–said to be affiliated with Al-Qaida and engaged in alleged terrorist plots–“is dangerous enough to merit the potential domestic fallout of killing an American without charging him with a crime or trying him.” However, the report continues: “the Pentagon did ultimately decide to recommend lethal action.”

But the ACLU, which is fighting an ongoing legal battle with the White House over the CIA and Pentagon’s use of drones and Obama’s secretive assassination program, responded to the leaked details of the internal deliberations by issuing a serious warning against an attempted assassination.

“The government’s killing program has gone far beyond what the law permits, and it is based on secret evidence and legal interpretations,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project. “The targeted killing of an American being considered right now shows the inherent danger of a killing program based on vague and shifting legal standards, which has made it disturbingly easy for the government to operate outside the law.”