Trump Fires US Attorney General Sally Yates For Refusing To Recognize Muslim Ban As Legal
MEP: US President Donald Trump has fired the acting US attorney general after she questioned the legality of his immigration ban.
Yates was relieved of her post Monday, just hours after news broke that she was instructing Department of Justice lawyers not to defend the executive order.
Ms Yates, who was appointed by Mr Obama, said she was “not convinced that the executive order is lawful”.
“I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right,” Ms Yates wrote in a letter to Justice Department lawyers. “At present, I am not convinced that the defence of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities.”
“The acting attorney general, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States,” the White House said in a statement on Monday. “President Trump relieved Ms Yates of her duties and subsequently named Dana Boente, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting attorney general until Senator Jeff Sessions is finally confirmed by the Senate.”
Trump issued an executive order late Friday to impose a 90-day entry ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia, block refugees from Syria indefinitely, and suspend all refugee admissions for 120 days.
Yates had agreed to serve in an acting capacity until Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump’s pick for US attorney general, was confirmed by the Senate. The White House said that Dana Boente, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, would now be acting US attorney general until Sessions is approved.
