Full Breakdown
Former DOJ Pardon Attorney Sues Over Alleged Politicized Firing
9/4/2026, 5:58:37 AM
Core Event: Lawsuit Claims Illegal Termination Over Mel Gibson Gun-Rights Request
Elizabeth “Liz” Oyer, who served as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney from April 2022 until March 2025, filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was unlawfully dismissed after refusing to recommend restoring actor Mel Gibson’s firearm rights. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asserts violations of her constitutional due-process rights, the Civil Service Reform Act, and her First-Amendment freedoms. Oyer seeks a declaration that the termination was illegal, reinstatement, and back pay with benefits.
Background & Context
The pardon attorney advises the Attorney General on clemency matters and reviews petitions for restoration of civil rights, including gun rights. In early 2025, President Donald Trump designated Gibson—a 2011 domestic-violence misdemeanor convict and vocal Trump supporter—as a “Hollywood ambassador.” According to Oyer’s suit, senior staff of then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche asked her to add Gibson to a list of individuals whose gun rights should be restored, despite Gibson’s violent-offense history. Oyer declined, citing public-safety concerns, and was terminated shortly thereafter.
Timeline
- April 2022 – Oyer appointed pardon attorney.
- Early 2025 – Administration pressures DOJ to favor Gibson.
- March 7 2025 – Oyer issues a memo refusing to recommend Gibson’s gun-rights restoration; she is terminated the same day.
- April 2025 – Oyer files an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
- Late 2025 – MSPB dismisses her appeal; the case remains in limbo.
- 2026 – Oyer’s lawsuit is filed, naming the DOJ and Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants.
Data & Statistics
- Oyer’s record includes recommending the commutation of 40 death-sentence convictions to life without parole during the Biden administration, a point cited by Republican lawmakers criticizing her tenure.
- The lawsuit references a March 2025 termination notice that omitted the statutory 30-day notice and opportunity to respond required under civil-service law.
Official Statements & Responses
The Justice Department has not commented on the lawsuit. A department statement emphasized that Oyer’s dismissal was unrelated to Gibson and linked it to her prior recommendations to commute death sentences. Blanche’s hearing remarks echo this position, attributing the termination to “issues unrelated to Gibson,” specifically her work on Biden-era commutations.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Reason for firing: Oyer’s complaint and multiple media accounts describe political pressure to aid Gibson as the catalyst, while DOJ officials maintain the decision stemmed from unrelated performance matters.
- MSPB jurisdiction: A March 2026 MSPB decision held that it lacks jurisdiction over terminations invoked under Article II authority, leaving Oyer’s claim without substantive review. The suit argues this interpretation violates statutory protections for career civil servants.
- Public-safety impact: Oyer emphasizes the danger of restoring gun rights to domestic-abuse offenders; the DOJ has not provided an independent assessment.
Verbatim Quotes
- “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. My firing violated my constitutional and statutory rights, and it also jeopardized public safety,” — Liz Oyer, pardon attorney
- “I had known nothing about Mel Gibson or that letter when I fired her, nothing,” — Todd Blanche, department and attorney
