Obama Admonished For Failing To Close Gitmo
Mentors and fundraisers of the president are letting him know their displeasure that the prison at Guantanamo Bay is still open. They’ve expressed themselves
The president promised to shutter the prison in 2008, but has blamed Congressionally imposed restrictions and diplomatic hurdles for his failure to do so over five years in office. In the letter, a bipartisan group of Chicago lawyers—many who know Obama personally—argue that the president has all the authority he needs now to transfer prisoners out and has no excuse for inaction.
Signatories include Chicago civil rights attorney Judson Miner, who gave Obama his first job out of law school, and Steven Cohen, a top bundler who raise more than $650,000 for the president during his two campaigns. Judge Abner Mikva, who offered a young Obama a clerkship and later became his mentor, also signed onto the letter. Some Republicans also joined, including former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson.
