The Huntington Beach City Council took no action at a special meeting on the rehiring of former City Attorney Michael Gates, the city announced after a 90-minute closed session discussion Friday.

Gates announced earlier this month that he had resigned from the Department of Justice and accepted an offer as chief assistant city attorney of Huntington Beach starting Nov. 24.

A federal employment document, which the Register obtained through a public records request, said Gates had been fired “for cause” after serving 10 months as deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. Gates has maintained that he resigned.

At its regular meeting Tuesday, the council called for a special meeting to address “anticipated litigation” in two emails from Gates’ attorney, Benja

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