Trump fires chief US lawyer who defied him on migrant ban

January 31, 2017

Washington, Jan 31: US President Donald Trump on Monday fired the acting attorney general, a holdover from the Obama administration, after she ordered Justice Department attorneys not to defend his controversial immigration orders.

SallyIn a sharply worded statement, the White House called Sally Yates "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration" and also criticized Democrats for not yet confirming the appointment of attorney general-designate Jeff Sessions.

"The acting attorney general, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States," the White House said in a statement.

"This order was approved as to form and legality by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel," it said.

"Tonight, President Trump relieved Ms Yates of her duties."

Federal prosecutor Dana Boente will serve as acting attorney general "until Senator Jeff Sessions is finally confirmed by the Senate, where he is being wrongly held up by Democrat senators for strictly political reasons," it said.

With Trump's White House facing multiple lawsuits and worldwide opprobrium over an order banning migrants from seven Muslim nations, Yates had whipped the rug from under her boss in a defiant and damaging parting shot.

In a memo to Department of Justice staff, Yates -- a career government lawyer promoted by Barack Obama -- expressed doubts about the legality and morality of Trump's decree, which has prompted mass protests.

"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," Yates wrote.

"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," she added.

"For as long as I am the acting attorney general, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the executive order, unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so."

Yates's directive means that the US government, at least for now, has no authorized courtroom representation in the lawsuits.

It was a remarkable act of defiance against a tough-talking president who has showed little sign of brooking insubordination.

Sessions has not yet been confirmed by Congress. He faces a vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday and must then be confirmed by the full Senate.

If confirmed, Sessions would almost certainly reverse course.

But Democratic lawmakers have vociferously opposed Trump's order and Republicans are privately seething over the way his White House has handled the issue.

The order signed on Friday suspended the arrival of all refugees for a minimum of 120 days, Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

Several federal judges have since filed temporary stays.

Firing Yates has uncomfortable echoes of President Richard Nixon's "Saturday night massacre" during the Watergate scandal.

Then, Nixon fired the Watergate special prosecutor, prompting the departures of his attorney general and deputy attorney general. The events catalyzed Nixon's impeachment.

On Sunday, attorneys general from 16 US states, including California and New York, condemned Trump's directive as "unconstitutional" and vowed to fight it.

Comments

PedoMhdFkdAmna
 - 
Tuesday, 31 Jan 2017

I hope all western countries ban Muslims forever

shaji
 - 
Tuesday, 31 Jan 2017

This shows the frustration of Trump and hope he will get more frustrations in the days to come for his unwise / illegal decisions which will effect US on all grounds. I hope public anger and disappoint towards Trump will grow day by day.

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Agencies
June 22,2020

The total number of global COVID-19 cases was nearing 9 million, while the deaths have increased to over 467,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

By Monday morning, the total number of cases stood at 8,927,195, while the fatalities increased to 467,636, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

With 2,279,306 cases and 119,967 deaths, the US continues with the world's highest number of COVID-19 infections and fatalities, according to the CSSE.

Brazil comes in the second place with 1,083,341 infections and 50,591 deaths.

In terms of cases, Russia ranks third (583,879), and was followed by India (410,461), the UK (305,803), Peru (251,338), Spain (246,272), Chile (242,355), Italy (238,499), Iran (204,952), France (197,008), Germany (191,272), Turkey (187,685), Mexico (180,545), Pakistan (176,617), Saudi Arabia (157,612), Bangladesh (112,306) and Canada (103,078), the CSSE figures showed.

The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are the UK (42,717), Italy (34,634), France (29,643), Spain (28,323), Mexico (21,825) and India (13,254).

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News Network
January 20,2020

Langkawi, Jan 20: Malaysia will not take retaliatory trade action against India over its boycott of palm oil purchases amid a political row between the two countries, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday.

India, the world’s largest edible oil buyer, this month effectively halted imports from its largest supplier and the world’s second-biggest producer in response to comments from Mahathir attacking India’s domestic policies.

“We are too small to take retaliatory action,” Mahathir told reporters in Langkawi, a resort island off the western coast of Malaysia. “We have to find ways and means to overcome that,” he added.

The 94-year-old premier of Muslim-majority Malaysia has criticised New Delhi’s new religion-based citizenship law and also accused India of invading the disputed region of Kashmir.

Mahathir again criticised India’s citizenship law on Monday, saying he believed it was “grossly unfair”.

India has been Malaysia’s largest palm oil market for the past five years, presenting the Southeast Asian country with a major challenge in finding new buyers for its palm oil.

Benchmark Malaysian palm futures fell nearly 10% last week, their biggest weekly decline in more than 11 years.

New Delhi is also unhappy with Malaysia’s refusal to revoke permanent resident status for controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India.

Mahathir said even if the Indian government guarantees a fair trial, Naik faces the real threat of vigilante action and that Malaysia will only relocate the preacher if it can find a third country where he would be safe.

“If we can find a place for him, we will send him out.”

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News Network
June 17,2020

Beijing, Jun 17: China said Wednesday it wanted to avoid further clashes with India along their border after the first deadly confrontation between the two nuclear powers in decades.

The two countries have traded blame for Monday's high-altitude brawl that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead, with China refusing to confirm so far whether there were any casualties on its side.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian insisted again Wednesday that it was Indian troops who illegally crossed the border and attacked the Chinese side.

This led to "a serious physical confrontation between both sides that caused deaths and injuries", Zhao said at a regular briefing, without providing more details about the casualties.

He said China urges India to "strictly restrain frontline troops, do not illegally cross the border, do not make provocative gestures, do not take any unilateral actions that will complicate the border situation".

But he added that the two sides "will continue to resolve this issue through dialogue and negotiations".

"We of course don't wish to see more clashes," Zhao said.

Comments

Indian baba
 - 
Wednesday, 17 Jun 2020

we have 56 inch chest man as our leader...he alone will fight the war and give victory to india..jai bakth

 

 

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