U.S. - Justice department lawyers instructed not to defend Trump migration order – reports

The acting US attorney general Sally Yates has instructed Justice Department lawyers not to defend President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel for people from seven Muslim-majority countries, according to reports.

Yates was appointed by Barack Obama, and is serving as the acting head of the Justice Department until Jeff Sessions’ likely confirmation.

“I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right,” Yates wrote in a letter to Justice Department lawyers, obtained by the New York Times. “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.”

Her decision is the latest show of dissent from a government agency at odds with Trump’s executive order. Earlier on Monday, hundreds of US diplomats were reported to have signed a memo fiercely dissenting from Trump’s travel ban.