YATES AND THE EXECUTIVE ORDER

During Monday’s hearing, a number of Republican senators took exception to Sally Yates’ decision not to defend President Donald Trump’s executive order on the travel ban. Here is Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, telling Yates how he felt about it.

Cornyn: Well, Ms. Yates, you had a distinguished career for 27 years at the Department of Justice and I voted for your confirmation because I believed that you had a distinguished career. But I have to tell you that I find it enormously disappointing that you somehow vetoed the decision of the Office of Legal Counsel with regard to the lawfulness of the president’s order and decided instead that you would countermand the executive order of the president of the United States because you happen to disagree with it as a policy matter . ... I just have to say that.

Yates: I appreciate that, Senator, and let me make one thing clear. It is not purely as a policy matter. In fact, I’ll remember my confirmation hearing. In an exchange that I had with you and others of your colleagues where you specifically asked me in that hearing that if the president asked me to do something that was unlawful or unconstitutional and one of your colleagues said or even just that would reflect poorly on the Department of Justice, would I say no? And I looked at this, I made a determination that I believed that it was unlawful. I also thought that it was inconsistent with principles of the Department of Justice and I said no. And that’s what I promised you I would do and that’s what I did.

THE NEW YORK TIMES Sally Yates was an Obama administration holdover who became acting attorney general in January. She ordered the Justice Department not to defend an executive order on immigration.