YouSaid · the spoken record

Sally Yates

lines on the record
67
first
2018-05-27
most recent
2018-05-27
sittings or episodes
1
sources
podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “You know, I was talking with an AUSA in Atlanta a few weeks ago, and she told me about, she was trying a case and the FBA agent was there with her and her parents had come to see the first time. And the agent introduced herself to her parents and said, I'm with the FBI. I'm one of the good ones. The fact that she felt the need to say that really just broke my heart because, you know, I've worked with FBA agents for many, many years. And no organization is perfect. I'm not suggesting that, but I know those folks. I know how hard working they are and how seriously they really take their responsibilities there. So to have to, for her to have to say, I'm one of the good ones, that showed me that it's having an effect on folks.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “You know, it's hard to quantify that. But DOJ and the FBI really rely on public confidence to be able to do their jobs. When FBI agents go knocking on somebody's door because they need information, there's a crime they're investigating. The folks answering that door need to trust the agents that are on the other side. When prosecutors go into court and are trying a case, you need for the jury to trust that the information that you're presenting is accurate. They test it, of course, through cross-examination and otherwise, but there needs to be a basic level of trust there. And that's one of the things that really concerns me here is that there's really no way to quantify that. But this has ramifications far beyond”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “It does, and there's an IG investigation of that as well. Director Comey's actions with respect to that letter, as well as the July press conference. And so I'm not going to talk about that either until that's over.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “much caution. I am a public corruption prosecutor. That's what I did for many, many years when I was an assistant United States attorney. And whether you're talking about a presidential election or whether you're talking about a local sheriff's race, the Department of Justice is always very sensitive to taking actions that can impact elections. You're always very sensitive to taking an action that a political opponent might try to use in the course of an election, and you want to make sure you're not being used in that way. So even in lower level local races, that's something that guides DOJ. So you can imagine if you're talking about issues that are on the national stage, you are hyper-focused on those issues as well because you don't want to be unfair and to have information used inappropriately. And you also want to make sure that the public continues to have”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “Well, much of that remains classified and is under investigation now, so I really can't come. I'm not going to get into parsing between, you know, I don't have a clear list of what is and what isn't classified there. I think that's being reviewed by the Inspector General. I'm a rules girl. I'm going to follow that rule and let them finish their investigation.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “Off their back and continue to focus on what the law requires and what the facts show and to try to just call it like they see it.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “Yeah, well, just imagine if you're there and you're trying to do your job and whether you're Rod Rosenstein or whether you're one of the line people at DOJ who is really subjected to what seems like sometimes the daily criticisms from the president of the United States or in this instance from some members of Congress who are demanding an investigation of the Trump-appointed folks at DOJ and FBI. That is not an easy environment to do your work. These are tough jobs to begin with. That makes it a whole lot harder. That being said though, I've known a lot of these people for many years. I know how dedicated they are to trying to do the right thing. And that doesn't mean everybody's always going to agree with DOJ's decisions on things. That's fair enough. But I believe that the people at the Department of Justice, as difficult as it is, are going to try to let that stuff roll off.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “I don't know that he's trying to do that. It sure has every appearance of that. You know, it feels like he's marched him up to the guillotine several times now, only to then walk him away. And it's got to be really hard to do your job in those kind of circumstances.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “Well, and that's something you always have to think about. Look, the policies and practices of the department are there for a reason. They guide DOJ in high-profile perilous times. And so you do have to be concerned about the precedent that it sets next time someone makes a demand like that. At the same time, though, you can't be so rigid that you don't make any allowances for special circumstances. And again, I don't know what all of the facts are here. So I'm not going to second-guess that decision.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “You know, I think that Rod Rosenstein is trying to strike a balance here between diffusing the situation and protecting the interest of the department and the rule of law. And, you know, I don't know all of the facts of this.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “You know, I think that that's something that folks haven't focused on in the same way that they have focused on how dangerous it would be if Bob Mueller were fired. You're right. Rod Rosenstein as the person overseeing the special counsel here has control over a lot of things. He has control over the scope of the investigation. Bob Mueller has to come to him before taking any significant steps, which includes a search warrant or returning any indictments. He has control over what information could be made public and whether information is presented to Congress. A backdoor way to try to choke the life out of the Special Counsel investigation could be through trying to replace Rod Rosenstein and putting someone in there who would do what the president wanted him to do.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “Again, I'm not going to speak to this specific one, but I will say this look, I was with DOJ for 27 years, and I can tell you that the men and women of the Department of Justice take the responsibility very seriously. Investigations there are done based on the facts and the law and not based on politics. And I'm confident that that will be the result of this investigation as well.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “Yeah, well, you're right. It's under investigation now, and I think I have to leave it to this Department of Justice and FBI to make decisions about what information they're going to publicly release. So I can't really comment on that specific allegation.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “Well, but I don't think we should think of norms as something that are less important than our laws. You know, the norms are really the fabric that holds the whole democracy together. And without that, things start falling apart. And so, for example, here, does he have the legal authority? Perhaps so. I don't know that people really would challenge that. But we also have always relied upon the good faith and good character of people who are holding these offices. And just because you can doesn't mean you should. And here it's even a step beyond a dangerous point because it's not just directing a criminal investigation or to stop one of anyone. It directly relates to his campaign. That's truly unprecedented.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “But this took it a step further because he didn't just opine. He actually directed in the language of I hereby, I think it was I hereby direct in the tweet. And, you know, that does take things to a different and more dangerous level, I think, in trying to inject himself.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “This has really taken the assault on the rule of law to a new level. Really from the beginning of this presidency, President Trump has not observed the time-honored norm that's been in place, at least since Watergate, that there should be a real division between the Department of Justice and the White House. It would certainly DOJ is part of the executive branch. We all recognize that. But for the public to have confidence that the law is not being used in a political way, in both parties have recognized that those decisions really need to be left to the people at the Department of Justice. And there have been incidents in the past from calling for example Attorney General's sessions and trying to get him to drop the criminal case on Sheriff Arpio to repeatedly calling for the investigation or prosecution of his former political rival.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “You know, you're right. I do come from a long line of lawyers, and the concept of the rule of law is something I grew up around. And I think sort of boiled down to its essence. It's the concept that our laws apply equally to everyone and that no one is above the law and that everyone is entitled to equal protection, that the laws aren't used as a sword to go after anybody's enemies or as a shield to protect oneself or one's friends.”

    2018-05-27 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 246 — Sally Yates · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source