Former DOJ Pardon Attorney Sues Trump Administration Over Mel Gibson Gun Rights Dispute

POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — A former U.S. pardon attorney has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, claiming she was illegally terminated last year after resisting pressure from the Trump administration to restore actor Mel Gibson’s right to own firearms.

Liz Oyer, who held the position from 2022 until March 2025, asserts in a Thursday statement that her dismissal was a result of her refusal to prioritize political interests over her professional obligations to the public.

Oyer stated, This case is about much more than what happened to me. All Americans rely on nonpartisan civil servants to keep them safe and to uphold the law without fear or favor. I was fired because I refused to put politics ahead of my duty to the American people.

The legal action, brought in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues that the administration ignored federal civil servant protections and violated her constitutional rights by firing her in March without prior notice or an opportunity for a hearing.

According to the complaint, aides to then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche pressured Oyer to include Gibson on a list of people recommended for the restoration of their gun rights.

Oyer declined the request, citing a lack of thorough vetting and Gibson’s 2011 no-contest plea to a charge involving the battering of a former girlfriend.

The lawsuit further alleges that a staffer working for Blanche contacted Oyer using a bullying tone to suggest that making the recommendation would be in her best interest.

In January 2025, President Trump appointed Gibson as a Hollywood ambassador.

Oyer submitted a memo to the attorney general’s office on March 7 reiterating her opposition to restoring Gibson’s firearm rights; she was terminated from her position that same day.

While Oyer appealed the decision to the Merit Systems Protection Board, she claims in her suit that the petition remains in a state of prolonged limbo without any substantive review.

The Justice Department responded by citing testimony from Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearings this summer, in which he testified, I had known nothing about Mel Gibson or that letter when I fired her, nothing.

In a statement provided to The Independent, the DOJ also took aim at Oyer, criticizing the killers for whom she had recommended commuting death sentences.

Republican legislators have similarly attacked Oyer for her role during the Biden administration, specifically her recommendation to convert 40 death sentences into life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The White House has been contacted for comment on the matter.

Since leaving the DOJ, Oyer has emerged as a prominent critic of the current administration’s practices.

During July testimony against Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, she claimed he had laid waste to the Department’s most valuable assets: its credibility and its talented workforce.

Oyer previously told PBS that the Trump administration was misusing the pardon power to assist individuals convicted of corruption, alleging the president is liberally pardoning corrupt public officials who are charged with offenses that involve abusing their political offices to enrich themselves.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)