What began yesterday as just another Monday in the horrific hellscape that is Trump’s America ended with a more horrifying moniker: the Monday Night Massacre
Modeled off of a similar day during the Nixon Administration, the day is being so called because it was the day that President Trump unceremoniously fired acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates for defying his refugee ban and publicly criticizing the administration.
Yates was fired by the President after she refused to call on the Department of Justice to enforce or defend Trump’s refugee ban. Yates said that she felt the ban was unenforceable and even unlawful.
In a letter to the lawyers of the DoJ, Yates stated:
“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.”
For her honesty, she was swiftly fired and replaced by Dana Boente, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
After she was given notice of her firing, the White House issued a scathing statement attacking Yates’ character and attempting to align her opposition with the previous administration’s political leanings.
“Ms. Yates is an Obama administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration.”
Senator Chuck Schumer defended Yates’ action saying, “[The] attorney general should be loyal and pledge fidelity to the law, not the White House. The fact that this administration doesn’t understand that is chilling.”
Yates was a carryover from the Obama administration and was asked to serve as acting Attorney General until Trump’s pick, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, could be confirmed by the Senate.
Now, Trump’s hand-picked selection of Boente will head the department for the interim, and no doubt he was chosen to do so because he will not question the administration’s agenda. The person who was poised to replace Yates in the line of succession was skipped over, indicating that Trump chose Boente for a reason.
Many have referred to this day as Monday Night Massacre in reference to a similar day, the 1973 “Saturday Night Massacre” in which President Richard Nixon dismissed independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, head prosecutor in charge of the investigation into his involvement in Watergate. This resulted in a constitutional crisis, something we may be headed toward as well.
Despite the Trump Administration’s fury at Yates, those who oppose Trump are applauding her action and making grand comparisons to past historical events.
People say, “If I’d been in Germany in WWII, I would’ve refused to obey orders.” We just saw someone who meant it. #ThankYouSallyYates
— Amy Jo Cousins (@_AJCousins) January 31, 2017
