Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general who was dismissed by President Trump last year after refusing to defend his first travel ban, joined Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Matt Apuzzo in a discussion on the independence of the judiciary, the finer points of constitutional law, civil rights in the modern era, criminal justice and prison reform. Yates, the Distinguished Lecturer from Government at Georgetown Law, expressed worry over the barrage on “democratic institutions and norms” the nation was currently facing.
And on the travel ban that launched her to the media spotlight, she stated “It became apparent to me that to defend this, we would have to advance an argument that the travel ban had absolutely nothing to do with religion.” Against the President’s words and her department’s analysis, that was an untenable position. Summing up, she extolled students on the need to “stand up and speak out about those things that we think are wrong or unjust.”
Read more: The Hoya – Georgetown Voice
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