Former Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates is headed back to Surf City after less than a year with the U.S. Justice Department. The reason for his return is a matter of dispute between Gates and Trump administration officials.
Gates announced his resignation as deputy assistant U.S. attorney general on November 9. But undated federal documents state Gates was actually fired for cause. Department sources told the Orange County Register that Gates had repeatedly made derogatory remarks about female colleagues and complained about the hiring of a pregnant woman at the DOJ.
Gates says he had already told DOJ officials that he planned to resign when he received his “termination” notice. According to Gates, the DOJ Office of Civil Rights has been plagued by dysfunctional leadership, and officials wanted to change the narrative after he quit.
Gates added that the allegations about his degrading treatment of women are baseless. He is now considering a defamation lawsuit.
On November 24, Gates will assume the role of Huntington Beach’s assistant city attorney. You can read more about his history with the city here.