Countable Explains: Who's Who in the Russia Investigation

Sally Yates

Former Role:

Attorney General

Quote:

"[Yates] has betrayed the Department of Justice"

— White House statement after Yates’ firing

Key dates:

• January 26 and 27, 2017: Yates informs the White House that Flynn’s assertions that he did not discuss sanctions with Russian officials aren’t true, thus making him vulnerable to blackmail. "We felt like it was critical that we get this information to the White House, in part because the vice president was making false statements to the public and because we believed that Gen. Flynn was possibly compromised," Yates said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on May 8, 2017.

• January 30: Yates tells Justice Department lawyers not to make legal arguments defending Trump’s travel ban executive order.

• January 30: Trump fires acting Attorney General Yates for "refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States."

• May 8, 2017: Yates testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Current mood:

Better than before...