MICHAEL GATES while Huntington Beach City Attorney (Tribune photo).

The question of whether former Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates resigned from his post in the federal Department of Justice in Washington or was fired may have reached a conclusion.

Gates, who is seeking to come back to the city attorney’s office as chief as

“Please accept this letter as formal notification that the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has accepted your voluntary resignation from the position of Deputy Assistant Attorney General, effective November 9, 2025,” read the document.

It also stated, “Accordingly, the Division rescinds and will remove from your personnel record any previous reference to your termination” and would place in his official electronic folder a statement that “you voluntarily resigned from your position.”

Previously, copies of apparently official records indicted that Gates had been terminated “for cause.” He denied that and asserted his departure was entirely because of his desire to return to his family and Huntington Beach.