ACLU head Anthony Romero urges Obama to pardon Bush, CIA torture authorizers

ACLU head Anthony Romero urges Obama to pardon Bush, CIA torture authorizers
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee are expected to publicly release a 500-page version of the committee's 6,000-page investigation into harsh CIA interrogation techniques authorized by the Bush administration in 2002, and some instances where interrogators reportedly overstepped even those loosened standards. Republican committee members and the CIA will publish critiques of the long-awaited document.

The report's imminent release has Washington more sharply divided than usual, with Obama supporting the airing of America's dirty laundry, Republicans decrying it, and the military and intelligence community preparing for a possibly violent backlash overseas at the recounting of torture-like techniques. The American Civil Liberties Union supports releasing the report, for obvious reasons, but its executive director, Anthony Romero, also argues for pardoning George W. Bush and the other government officials with a hand in the program.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.