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Sally Yates was anything but treacherous in her final days as President Trump’s acting Attorney General.
Her role as a legal canary in the coal mine during a brief role heading the Justice Department may have poised the White House away from National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and inspired his ousting.
Yates tried insulating the White House from a series of looming controversies — the potentially illegal executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries and the latest bombshell that Flynn misled several senior members of the Trump administration about his suspected pre-inauguration talks with a Russian diplomat.
Despite Flynn’s assurances to Vice President Mike Pence that he never discussed dissolving Obama’s sanctions against Russia, Yates informed the Trump camp in late January that he lied and it was a violation of the Logan Act. The law prohibits private citizens from influencing foreign government.
Additionally, Flynn was a prime target for Russian blackmail, the Washington Post reported Yates as saying.
She wasn’t alone in her thoughts. Both former CIA director John Brennan and James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence agreed with Yates, according to the Post.
It’s unclear exactly how the White House absorbed Yates’ warning other than directing an increasingly cold shoulder at Flynn that culminated in his surprise resignation Monday night.
Flynn’s resignation and the revelation that she tried protecting the reputation of the White House suggests Yates was far from being the administration’s traitor.
Her cautionary tale set Flynn’s resignation in motion shortly after the Washington Post published its report revealing her role just after 8 p.m. on Monday. Within a half hour, Trump and Pence had funneled into the Oval Office to swear in Steven Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury. The pair ignored shouted questions from reporters questioning Flynn’s job security.
Trump and several White House officials remained in the West Wing for two more hours before finally releasing Flynn’s departing letter conceding that he briefed Pence with “incomplete information.”
As for Yates, the Trump administration sacked her days after she met with the White House on Jan. 30 for ordering the Justice Department to not enforce the unscrupulous travel ban.
The White House chose to retaliate by publicly skewering Yates for the act of defiance in a statement announcing her termination and her replacement, Dana Boente.
“Ms. Yates is an Obama Administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration,” a White House spokesman said.
Her action prompted cheers from immigration advocates for standing up to Trump’s travel ban, which has prompted a whirlwind of legal lashback.
Yates has not publicly addressed her DOJ departure.
A Georgia senator submitted a bill to honor Yates, her neighbor and a former federal prosecutor who successfully convicted the Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph in Atlanta, but the initiative was buried after the White House lambasting.
As Yates entered the news cycle again on Monday night, the state bill’s sponsor, Sen. Elena Parent, called on lawmakers to once again recognize Yates’ legal achievements.
“She was blocked by the Republicans who decided she wasn’t worthy,” Parent said in a petition. “Just this year, they have commended and celebrated two Eagle Scouts, three retirees, Miss Georgia, and a member of the Houston Astros — in addition to Donald Trump. Surely Sally Yates deserves the same recognition?”