Yates' Actions: Lawful Or Legal Transgression?

Sally Yates, an American lawyer, served as the United States' Deputy Attorney General from 2015 to 2017. She was fired by President Trump for refusing to defend his controversial Executive Order 13769, which banned refugees and travellers from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. This order was deemed unlawful by several federal courts, and Yates' refusal sparked a debate about whether she had broken the law. While some legal experts criticised her actions as insubordination, others praised her for standing up against an unconstitutional order. This incident, along with her impressive career in the Department of Justice, has made her a notable figure in American politics and law.

Sally Q. Yates' refusal to defend Executive Order 13769

On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13769, which restricted travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. The order also temporarily banned the admission of refugees on the grounds that terrorists were exploiting the U.S. refugee resettlement program to enter the country.

Although the executive order had been approved as to "form and legality" by the Department of Justice's Legal Counsel, then-Acting Attorney General Sally Yates ordered the Justice Department not to defend the order because she believed it to be unlawful and inconsistent with the Constitution. In a letter to DOJ staff, Yates wrote:

> At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities of the Department of Justice, nor am I 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. For as long as I am the acting Attorney General, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of th [is] executive order, unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so.

Yates' refusal to defend the executive order was controversial. Some legal experts and politicians argued that she should have resigned instead of instructing the Justice Department not to defend the order, with Cato Institute scholar Josh Blackman calling her actions "a textbook case of insubordination". However, others, including former Attorney General Eric Holder, praised Yates for standing up against what they saw as an unconstitutional order.

In response to Yates' decision, the Trump administration immediately dismissed her and replaced her with Dana Boente, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Yates' dismissal by the Trump administration

Sally Yates was dismissed by the Trump administration on January 30, 2017, after serving as Acting Attorney General for 10 days. Yates was dismissed for insubordination after she instructed the Justice Department not to make legal arguments defending Executive Order 13769, which temporarily banned the admission of refugees and barred travel from certain Muslim-majority countries (later including North Korea and Venezuela). The order was issued on the grounds that terrorists were exploiting the U.S. refugee resettlement program to enter the country.

Yates stated that the order was neither defensible in court nor consistent with the Constitution. In a letter to DOJ staff, she wrote:

> "At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities of the Department of Justice, nor am I 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. For as long as I am the acting Attorney General, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of [this] executive order, unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so."

Yates' dismissal was immediately carried out by the Trump administration, who replaced her with Dana Boente, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. A White House statement accused Yates of "betraying" the Department of Justice and described her as "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration."

Yates' decision not to defend the executive order sparked a debate among legal experts and scholars. Some argued that she should have resigned instead of instructing the Justice Department to not defend the order, while others praised her for standing up against what they perceived as an unconstitutional order.

Yates' dismissal drew criticism from Democrats and legal scholars, who viewed it as an attempt by the Trump administration to silence dissent and exert political influence over the Justice Department. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described Yates' actions as "a profile in courage," while Representative John Conyers criticised the decision to fire her, stating, "If dedicated government officials deem [Trump's] directives to be unlawful and unconstitutional, he will simply fire them as if government is a reality show."

The legality of Executive Order 13769

Executive Order 13769, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”, was signed by President Donald Trump on January 27, 2017. The order restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. It also lowered the number of refugees to be admitted into the US in 2017 to 50,000, suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days, and indefinitely suspended the entry of Syrian refugees.

The signing of the Executive Order provoked widespread condemnation and protests, and resulted in legal intervention against its enforcement. Critics referred to it as a "Muslim ban" because, in addition to Trump himself calling it such, all of the affected countries had a Muslim majority.

The legality of the order was challenged in federal courts almost immediately after its issuance. The plaintiffs challenging the order argued that it contravened the United States Constitution, federal statutes, or both. The state of Washington filed a legal challenge, State of Washington v. Trump, against the executive order; Minnesota later joined the case. On February 3, 2017, a district judge issued a ruling temporarily blocking major portions of the executive order. The ruling enjoined the government not to enforce sections 3(c), 5(a), and 5(c) of the order, and barred the government from "prioritizing the refugee claims of religious minorities" as described in sections 5(b) and 5(e).

On January 30, 2017, Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, an Obama administration holdover, barred the Justice Department from defending the executive order in court. She stated that she was not convinced that the order was lawful and that its effects were not in keeping "with this institution's solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right". Trump responded by firing Yates and publicly denouncing her in a "scorched-earth" statement. He replaced her with Dana J. Boente, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. This leadership alteration was referred to by some as "the Monday Night Massacre".

The Monday Night Massacre

On January 30, 2017, President Donald Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates, an incident that has since been dubbed the "Monday Night Massacre". The title draws comparisons to the "Saturday Night Massacre" of 1973, when President Richard Nixon ordered the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had been investigating the Watergate scandal.

Yates was dismissed for insubordination after she refused to defend Trump's Executive Order 13769, which banned refugees and travellers from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. She believed the order was unlawful and instructed the Justice Department not to make legal arguments defending it.

In a letter to DOJ staff, Yates wrote:

> At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities of the Department of Justice, nor am I 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. For as long as I am the acting Attorney General, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of th [is] executive order, unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so.

Yates' dismissal was immediately carried out by the Trump administration, who replaced her with Dana Boente, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Some legal experts argued that Yates should have resigned instead of instructing the Justice Department not to defend the executive order. However, a number of legal scholars praised her for standing up against what they perceived as an unconstitutional order.

The "Monday Night Massacre" refers to the parallels between the Trump administration's firing of Yates and the Watergate scandal, where the independence of the Justice Department was also called into question.

Yates' career prior to becoming Deputy Attorney General

Sally Yates was born Sally Caroline Quillian in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 20, 1960. She attended the University of Georgia, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1982, and a Juris Doctor degree in 1986, graduating magna cum laude. She was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in the same year.

From 1986 to 1989, Yates was an associate at the law firm King & Spalding in Atlanta, specialising in commercial litigation. She then joined the Department of Justice, becoming an Assistant US Attorney in the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Over the next two decades, she prosecuted a wide range of cases, including white-collar fraud and political corruption matters. In 1994, she became Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section. She rose through the ranks to become First Assistant US Attorney in 2002, and Acting US Attorney in 2004.

In 2010, Yates was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate to be the US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, becoming the first woman to hold that position. During her time as US Attorney, she was appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to be Vice Chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee.

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