Yates also accused the president of trying to “sic DOJ on a potential witness against him.”
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Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates ripped President Donald Trump on Tuesday for his early morning tweet about the U. S. Department of Justice.
Yates accused the president of trying to “sic DOJ on a potential witness against him” and sharply criticized his comments about the department and former top Clinton aide Huma Abedin:
POTUS on 12/28: “I have the absolute right to do what I want with the Justice Department.” Today he slanders career DOJ professionals as “deep state,” calls for prison for a political opponent, and tries to sic DOJ on a potential witness against him. Beyond abnormal; dangerous. https://t.co/eW4MCIEOGB
— Sally Yates (@SallyQYates) January 2,2018
The tweet from Yates also makes reference to comments Trump gave in a late-December New York Times interview when asked whether he believed the Department of Justice should reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Trump responded by citing an “absolute right” to direct the Justice Department:
“What I’ve done is, I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department. But for purposes of hopefully thinking I’m going to be treated fairly, I’ve stayed uninvolved with this particular matter.”
Yates served briefly as acting attorney general under the Trump administration but was swiftly fired following her decision not to defend the president’s so-called “Muslim ban” in court.
“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 after consideration of all the facts,” Yates said at the time. “In addition, 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 defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful,” Yates explained.
Since her dismissal by the president, Yates has used her Twitter account to criticize actions of the current administration as well as the president’s own tweets.
