US President Barack Obama signed a four-year extension of the Patriot Act late on May 26, minutes before it was set to expire. The bill passed the US Senate 72-23, and shortly after passed the US House of Representatives by a vote of 250-153. Although major congressional leaders of both parties had agreed to a clean extension of the act last week, delays were met when Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) filibustered the bill over the lack of an amendment process and serious concerns about privacy. After three days of filibustering, Paul received votes on two amendments that ultimately failed, both related to the ability of security officials to survey gun purchases. Controversial provisions renewed include provisions allowing the government to use roving wiretaps on multiple carriers and electronic devices and allowing the government to gain access to certain records relevant to its investigations. The "lone wolf" provision enables investigators to get warrants to conduct surveillance over targets not connected to any particular terrorist group.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on May 27 affirmed a lower court's decision confirming that Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainee Musa'ab Omar al-Madhwani is lawfully detained for being part of al-Qaeda. Madhwani challenged the denial of 2004 petition for writ of habeas corpus by the US District Court for the District of Columbia claiming that there was insufficient evidence to find that he was part of al-Qaeda and that the district court improperly relied on evidence outside the record, abused its discretion in denying additional discovery and committed various legal errors, including due process violations. The court supported the use of the "command structure" test employed by the district court as "sufficient to show that a person is part of al-Qaeda" in response to Madhwani's arguments against using an erroneous legal standard where only preponderance of evidence is needed to detain someone in connection with al Qaeda. Examining the evidence de novo, the appeals court found that:

The White House did make a somewhat equivocal statement implying (not explicitly stating) that an effort had been made to take Osama bin Laden alive. But Radio Netherlands on May 2 assumes the operation was "an extrajudicial killing" and asks if such actions are "allowed under international law." The report notes that the US State Department had offered a reward of up to $25 million for "information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction." The report adds rhetorically: "[B]ut is that a license to kill?"

The Obama administration announced April 27 that CIA director Leon Panetta is to become defense secretary, replacing the retiring Robert Gates (himself a former CIA director), while the new CIA director will be Gen. David Petraeus, currently US commander in Afghanistan and formerly the architect of the Iraq "surge" as chief of Central Command. Analyzes the New York Times:

WikiLeaks on April 24 began publishing "The Guantanamo Files," a collection of more than 700 classified documents relating to the evidence against and treatment of almost all detainees held at Guantánamo Bay between 2002 and 2008. The documents—detailing things such as the circumstances of detention, the evidence justifying detention, detainee risk evaluations, and the decision process of which detainees to transfer, hold, or release of 758 of the 779 total detainees—were published in part on the WikiLeaks website and released to media outlets. According to the media outlets that have analyzed the documents, they reveal that 220 "high value" al-Qaeda operatives had been held at Guantánamo, in addition to 150 who had been held for years without significant evidence against them. The documents also detailed the practice of US forces detaining people in Afghanistan based on their wearing a particular model of watch that is known to be used by al-Qaeda leaders. Additionally, 20 juveniles were held at the detention facility, including Omar Khadr, who was classified as a high value detainee by the Obama administration and agreed to a plea agreement after eight years in detention.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced April 20 that high-value Guantánamo Bay detainee Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri will be subject to capital charges and tried in a military court. According to the Pentagon, the chief prosecutor for the DoD's Office of Military Commissions plans to charge al-Nashiri with orchestrating the 2000 attack on the USS Cole that left 17 dead and 40 injured. The office will also bring charges in connection with an attack that same year on a French oil freighter that claimed the life of one crewmember and spilled 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden.

A former Guantánamo Bay detainee announced April 15 that he is suing members of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's regime over allegations that he was tortured by the government while in Egyptian custody. Mamdouh Habib, an Australian citizen, was arrested in Pakistan in 2001 following the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the US. He was released from Guantánamo in 2005 without charges being filed against him, after being held at the detention facility for three years. Habib claims that he was tortured and beaten after being taken to Egypt as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program. He claims Egypt's former vice-president Omar Suleiman and Mubarak's son Gamal supervised the torture, and indicated that he is seeking compensation and that he hopes those responsible will be imprisoned.

US Attorney General Eric Holder announced April 4 that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other co-conspirators will be tried before a military commission for their roles in the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Holder, who wanted the accused be tried before a federal civilian court, referred the cases to the Department of Defense after Congress imposed a series of restrictions barring the transfer of Guantánamo Bay detainees to the US. Holder said he refused to delay the trial any longer for the sake of the victims of the 9-11 attacks and their families, explaining that the restrictions are not likely to be repealed in the immediate future. While deciding to proceed with military commissions, Holder defended the federal judiciary, saying: