Sally Yates: Moral fiber of US being ‘shredded by unapologetic racism’

Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates warned Thursday that the “moral fiber” of America is in danger from the “unapologetic racism” President Trump has unleashed in his attacks on four minority congresswomen.

In a pair of tweets, the former Justice Department official quoted Edmund Burke and warned that those who did not stand up to Trump over his slams on the four lawmakers would bear responsibility for enabling them.

“’The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ Edmund Burke. Standing idly by as the moral fiber of our country is shredded by unapologetic racism may seem politically expedient to some, but it is ruinous for our nation,” she tweeted.

And those who could have stood up but cowered instead bear equal responsibility for the vile devolution of our country’s values.

— Sally Yates (@SallyQYates) July 18, 2019

Yates, who served in the Obama administration and briefly under Trump, was fired by the president for refusing to defend in court his ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries.{mosads}

The House voted on mostly party lines Tuesday to condemn as racist the president’s tweets aimed at Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.).

Trump defended his tweets at a rally Wednesday night even as the crowd dissolved into chants of “send her back!” aimed at Omar.

“The leading voices of the Democrat Party are left-wing extremists who reject everything our nation stands for,” Trump said Wednesday night. “These left-wing ideologues see our nation as a force of evil.”