American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero has lambasted the Obama administration for its handling of civil liberties issues, including its unwillingness to prosecute officials from the George W. Bush administration.
"I'm going to start provocatively. I'm disgusted with this president," Romero told a conference of liberal activists on Wednesday.
Romero clarified his remark in an interview with Politico, saying: "I'm not disgusted at President Obama personally. It's President Obama's policies on civil liberties and national security issues I'm disgusted by . . .
“Guantanamo is still not closed. The administration still uses state secrets to shield themselves from litigation. There's no prosecution for criminal acts of the Bush administration. Surveillance powers put in place under the Patriot Act have been renewed. If there has been change in the civil liberties context, I frankly don't see it."
The ACLU has said Bush and Dick Cheney’s comments about waterboarding amount to an admission of war crimes.
Romero added: "The unwillingness of the administration to stick by its guns and prosecute the Sept. 11 defendants in criminal court does not bode well for the broader civil liberties agenda.”
Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, said most of Obama’s problems stem from his quest for bipartisanship with Republicans on almost every issue.
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