Sally Yates claims Trump 'would not have the moral authority to lead this country' if he refuses to talk to Mueller

Sally Yates.
(Image credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune)

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates said Friday that despite reports that talks between President Trump's legal team and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office have deteriorated in the wake of the FBI raid of Michael Cohen's office earlier this week, it is still imperative that the president sit for questioning. "I don't understand how he would have the moral authority to lead this country if he didn't answer those questions," she said at the Women in the World conference in New York City, as reported by The Associated Press' Steve Peoples.

Yates was fired in early 2017 after she refused to defend Trump's executive order banning travelers from majority Muslim countries.

Prior to the FBI raid on Monday, Trump and Mueller's teams were reportedly finalizing the timing, length, and scope of the interview. "Trump's legal team is now re-evaluating what, if any, interview the President should offer," CNN reported Friday, with one person claiming the president's lawyers considered the raid a "major breach of trust." Trump has aimed to silence multiple reports claiming he has attempted to fire Mueller, or will soon, tweeting Wednesday: "if I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the Failing New York Times, I would have fired him."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.