Sally Yates is an American lawyer who served as Assistant US Attorney General during the Obama administration from January 2015 to January 2017. She was brought into the spotlight because she refused to recognize Trump’s immigration enforcement order, which led to her dismissal as Acting U.S. Attorney General, a position she held for only 10 days under the Trump-led administration. Here you will find everything you need to know about Sally Yates.
Sally Yates Bio (Wiki)
Sally Yates was born as Sally Caroline Quillian on August 20, 1960, in Atlanta, Georgia. She comes from a family of lawyers. Sally’s father, named John Kelley Quillian, was a judge and served on the Georgia Court of Appeals between 1966 and 1984. Unfortunately, Sally’s father committed suicide shortly after he left the service. Her mother, Xara “Mickey” DeBeaugrine Quillian (née Terrell) was an interior designer. She died in 2012 at the age of 81.
Sally’s grandmother was one of the first women to be admitted to the Georgia Bar. However, she was still alive at the time when women were not allowed to be lawyers, so she never really represented anyone, but instead worked as a legal secretary for her husband, Sally’s grandfather. She also worked as a secretary for her son John (Sally’s father) and Sally’s brother. Sally has a sister named Terre Quillian. She is a Republican and runs a political radio show in Alabama. Terre supported President Trump during his campaign.
Sally Yates attended the University of Georgia, where she earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, in 1982. Yates did not pursue a career in journalism, but instead chose to study law at the University of Georgia Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1986. During her school years, Yates served as editor-in-chief of the Georgia Law Review. During her school years, she worked part-time and was also an associate of Democratic Congressman Jack Brinkley.
After receiving her doctorate, Yates obtained her first position as an associate with the law firm of King & Spalding in Atlanta. She specialized in commercial litigation until she joined the U.S. Department of Justice in 1989 after being hired by U.S. attorney Bob Barr, a Republican.
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Yates rose to head the Department of Fraud and Public Corruption in 1994, and in 2002 she became First Assistant U.S. Attorney General. Two years later, in 2004, she became Assistant U.S. Attorney and in May 2010, following her nomination by President Obama, she became U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, making her the first woman to hold this office from that district.
After Trump Trump dismissed her as Acting U.S. Attorney, Sally Yates began teaching at the Georgetown University Law Center. She also resumed her work at King & Spalding, where she began her legal career.
Husband
Sally is married to J. Comer Yates, who is also a lawyer. His main occupation, however, is teaching. Comer Yates, fresh out of college (Emory University, Atlanta), began teaching at a high school in 1974. Sally’s husband taught at Daniel McLaughlin Therrell High School in Atlanta for two decades. During his time at that school, he earned a Juris Doctor. He later taught at Emory’s School of Law.
Unlike his wife, Sally, who shied away from the political office (she refused to run for governor in 2018 at the suggestion of the Georgia Democrats), Comey fired two shots as a Democrat in the mid-1990s, unfortunately, he lost both times. His first candidacy for this office was in 1994 when he ran to represent Georgia’s 4th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives. He lost to the Republican John Linder.
Comer ran for the office again in 1996, but failed again and lost to his Democratic counterpart Cynthia McKinney, who had won the support of the then Mayor of Atlanta, Bill Campbell. Although Sally’s husband has not run for office since then, he has managed to remain active in politics. He supported Obama during his two campaigns for the nation’s highest office and donated over $3,000, making him one of Obama’s most important donors.
Comer now devotes his time to giving speeches and addresses on literacy while also being the Executive Director of the Atlanta Speech School, the nation’s “most comprehensive center for language and literacy” founded in 1938. Comer assumed this position in 1998.
Other Details About Sally Yates
Kids
Sally Yates and her husband Comer have two children together, including son James Quillian and daughter Kelley Malone, both born in the 1990s. From 2017, Quill attended college for a degree in political science and environmental policy. Their daughter Kelley aspires to become a special education teacher.
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Net Worth
Having achieved everything she has achieved in her career, Sally Yates is far from being a charity recipient. She is, in fact, a wealthy woman. During her time as Deputy Attorney General of the nation and Acting Attorney General, Yates earned an average annual salary of $150,000.
In her financial disclosure statement released in 2014 when President Obama nominated her for Assistant Attorney General, Yates reported over $1.5 million worth of stock in a few companies, including Coca-Cola, Equifax, and Fidelity. Sally Yates’ net worth was estimated at over $5 million.
