Former Attorney General Sally Yates’ opening testimony for the record was released before her hearing in front of the Senate. Read her full statement.
Former attorney general Sally Yates took the stand on Monday to field questions from members of the Senate on Russia.
In her opening statement, she glossed over her background, saying that she started her career in 1989 as an assistant U. S. Attorney in Atlanta and investigated and tried many cases.
Soon enough, she found a role in the federal government and said that at every step of the way, she tried to be fair, just and honest.
“At every step, in every position from AUSA to Acting Attorney General, I have always tried to carry out my responsibility to seek justice in a manner that would engender the trust of the people whom I served, ” she said. “The efforts by a foreign adversary to interfere with and undermine our democratic processes—and those of our allies—pose a serious threat to all Americans. This hearing and others the Subcommittee has and will convene are an important bipartisan step in understanding the threat and the best ways to confront it going forward.”
She promised to provide “fulsome and comprehensive” answers to whatever questions members of the committee may have.
Read Yates’ full opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee in the document below. To watch a live stream of the hearing, click here.
Sally Yates Opening Statement by Chris on Scribd
The White House has lobbied for Yates not to testify in front of Congress, The Washington Post reported. Letters obtained by The Post said that the Trump administration had tried to block her from testifying because the things she would speak about were covered by the “attorney-client privilege or the presidential communication privilege.”
Yates was fired by Trump on January 30 — just over a week into his presidency — after she advised the Department of Justice to not abide by his executive order barring immigration to the U. S. from predominantly Muslim countries.
“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 said in a letter to the Justice Department’s lawyers.
Yates was appointed and confirmed to the position of deputy attorney general in May 2015 under President Barack Obama. Two years later in January 2017, she accepted an offer from the Trump administration to be the “acting” attorney general until the successor to Loretta Lynch — Jeff Sessions — was confirmed by the Senate.
Many of the questions at the Senate subcommittee hearing are expected to be about former national security advisor Michael T. Flynn and the communications he had with a Russian ambassador and money he received from entities in Russia.
Flynn was appointed by President Donald Trump to be the national security advisor, but served in the role for less than a month. He resigned under intense scrutiny about his connections to Russia. The Trump administration said he resigned after “misleading” Vice President Mike Pence when questioned about his ties to Russia.
Former U. S. Attorney General Sally Yates is testifying before Senate on Russia on May 8. She’s married to Comer Yates, the couple has two children.
