The Borneo Post

Trump fires chief US lawyer for defying migrant ban

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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday fired the acting attorney general, a holdover from the Obama administra­tion, after she ordered Justice Department attorneys not to defend his controvers­ial immigratio­n orders.

In a sharply worded statement, the White House called Sally Yates “weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigratio­n” and also criticised Democrats for not yet confirming the appointmen­t of attorney general- designate Jeff Sessions.

“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.

“This order was approved as to form and legality by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel,” it said.

“Tonight, President Trump relieved Ms Yates of her duties.”

Federal pros e cutor Dana Boente will serve as acting attorney general “until Senator Jeff Sessions is finally confirmed by the Senate, where he is being wrongly held up by Democrat senators for strictly political reasons,” it said. With Trump’s White House facing multiple lawsuits and worldwide opprobrium over an order banning migrants from seven Muslim nations, Yates had whipped the rug from under her boss in a defiant and damaging parting shot. In a memo to Department of Justice staff, Yates – a career government lawyer promoted by Barack Obama – expressed doubts about the legality and morality of Trump’s decree, which has prompted mass protests. “My responsibi­lity is to ensure that the position of the Department of Justice is not only legally defensible, but is informed by our best view of what the law is,” Yates wrote.

“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,” she added.

“For as long as I am the acting attorney general, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the executive order, unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriat­e to do so.”

Yates’s directive meant that the government, for a few hours, had no authorized courtroom representa­tion in lawsuits challengin­g the ban.

It was a remarkable act of defiance against a toughtalki­ng president who has showed little sign of brooking insubordin­ation.

But in a statement issued hours after his appointmen­t, Boente said he would defend the president’s directive.

“Based upon the Office of Legal Counsel’s analysis, which found the Executive Order both lawful on its face and properly drafted, I hereby rescind former Acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates Jan 30, 2017, guidance and direct the men and women of the Department of Justice to do our sworn duty and to defend the lawful orders of our President,” Boente said in a statement. — AFP

 ??  ?? Sally Yates
Sally Yates

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