Trump fires acting attorney general over refusing to recognize his Muslim ban as legal
US President Donald Trump fires the acting attorney general after she ordered US Justice Department attorneys not to defend the president’s Muslim ban.
"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."
In a letter she wrote to the department earlier in the day, Yates asserted that she is “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.”
“At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful.”
Trump initially responded to the letter by an expected tweet, in which he branded Yates an “Obama AG.”
He further complained that “the Democrats are delaying my cabinet picks for purely political reasons… They have nothing going but to obstruct.”
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.
Following the order, several lawsuits were being introduced against the ban.
Yates’s order was about to deny the government courtroom representation in the lawsuits.
US 'bolstered' armed groups to oust Assad in Syria: Report
Washington was ‘aware’ of Israel’s nuclear weapons production since 1960s: Declassified doc.
Blinken visits Turkey as tensions escalate over proxies in Syria
‘Ethnic cleansing’: Hamas blasts Israeli attacks on Gaza hospital amid intl. silence
Saudi delegation meets HTS leader at presidential palace in Damascus
Relentless Israeli ceasefire violations justify need for self-defense: Lebanese MP
Tel Aviv tells Damascus Israeli forces will remain in occupied territory: Report
Dec. 22: ‘Axis of Resistance’ operations against Israeli occupation
‘Abhorrent’: Oxfam says only 12 trucks delivered aid in North Gaza since Oct.
VIDEO | Leader receives religious eulogists on Hazrat Fatima birth anniv.
Pope Francis slams Israel’s ‘machine-gunning’ of Gaza children
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
