Washington/New York — US President Donald Trump fired acting attorney-general Sally Yates on Monday night after she refused to uphold his executive order banning entry into the US by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries and questioned the measure’s legality. Yates, an Obama administration holdover, was ousted hours after she told justice department staff that Trump’s directive was inconsistent with the agency’s "solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right". A White House statement announcing her dismissal said she "betrayed the department of justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the US". The Trump administration named Dana Boente, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to replace Yates as acting attorney-general, according to the statement. Also an Obama appointee, Boente’s office handled prosecutions, including the corruption case against former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell, a Repub...

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