By David Lauter
Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department will not defend President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration executive order in court, the department’s acting chief announced Monday, an extraordinary move reflecting the deep divisions the order has caused within the government.
“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,” acting Attorney General Sally Yates wrote in a letter to Justice Department lawyers.
“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,” she wrote. “Consequently, 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, the deputy attorney general, is a holdover from the Obama administration. Trump could fire her. But because his nominee for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, has not been confirmed and no other senior Justice Department officials have been appointed, doing so would cause significant problems within the department.
Among other issues, Yates is the only person in the department currently authorized to sign warrants for wiretapping in foreign espionage cases involving the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
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