Trump Fires Attorney-General For “Betrayal” Over Refusal To Defend Ban

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January 31, 2017

For a brief moment, it looked like there was some respite from Trump‘s authoritarian travel ban. Acting Attorney General Sally Yates – an Obama appointee holding the fort until Trump’s choice is confirmed by the Senate – had ordered Justice Department lawyers not to defend the executive order, which had already been crippled by an order from a federal judge.

Well, not so much now. Trump fired Yates, issuing a statement that certainly has the vibes of some kind of dystopian dictator:

JUST IN: Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates removed by White House after saying she would not defend Pres. Trump’s immigration ban. pic.twitter.com/k7GoYbvZMZ

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 31, 2017

Yates had issued a statement criticising the order:

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.

At present, I am not convinced that the defence of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful.

Of course, this was inevitable – it was very unlikely that Trump, who had the power to jettison Yates, would have allowed her to stay in that position while directly defying an executive order. The statement is still a concern, and its language of ‘betrayal’ shows that he considers executive government roles to be loyal to him and not the Constitution.

Yates’ replacement is Dana Boente, who is surely going to have a very brief tenure if Trump is able to get his preferred attorney general Jeff Sessions through the Senate. Boente will almost certainly instruct the Department of Justice to support Trump’s ban.

Dana Boente, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, has been named new acting AG, the White House said https://t.co/sXS04HNM3t pic.twitter.com/ryjqRj13li

— CNN (@CNN) January 31, 2017