Former acting attorney general Sally Yates to headline Dem fundraiser

Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general fired by President Trump for refusing to defend his controversial Muslim travel ban, will appear at a fundraiser Monday night for a Democratic candidate for Ohio attorney general.

Yates will be a "special guest" at a reception for candidate Steve Dettelbach at a private home in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Dettelbach's campaign manager, Ian Moskowitz confirmed.

The cost to attend the event ranges from $250 for guests to $2,500 for hosts, according to an invitation published by Politico.

Dettelbach worked for the Justice Department as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio for nearly seven years and is a career prosecutor. Yates was deputy attorney general under former president Barack Obama. She became the acting attorney general when former attorney general Loretta Lynch resigned the day that Trump was inaugurated.

"Like Steve, Sally Yates is a career federal prosecutor," Moskowitz wrote in an email. "They have both spent their careers fighting for the rule of law and against corrupt politicians from both parties. Steve and Sally were colleagues as U.S. Attorneys in the Obama Administration and then Sally oversaw his work when she became Deputy Attorney General."

Yates said in late January that she would not defend in court Trump's executive order that sought to suspend immigration from seven majority-Muslim nations. She said she was not convinced that Trump's order was lawful.

Three hours after Yates revealed her decision, the White House announced that she had been fired.

Monday's fundraiser will be Yates' first foray into politics since her firing. Democrats have been trying to convince Yates to run for governor of her native Georgia, where she served as the U.S. attorney in Atlanta. Yates has said she does not intend to run.

Georgetown University Law Center announced Thursday that Yates will serve as "a distinguished lecturer from government" for the fall semester.

Contributing: Kevin Johnson