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Liz Oyer Sues Justice Department Over Termination After Refusing to Restore Mel Gibson's Gun Rights

Liz Oyer, a former pardon attorney for the Justice Department, filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to declare her termination unlawful and to be reinstated to federal service. Oyer served as pardon attorney from April 2022 until March 2025. She alleges that the administration fired her after she refused to recommend that actor Mel Gibson have his gun rights restored. Oyer argues that she declined the request because Gibson had not been thoroughly vetted and had a prior domestic violence conviction. According to the lawsuit, the staff of then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche requested that Oyer add Gibson to a list of individuals for whom the Justice Department would recommend the reinstatement of gun rights. Oyer claims she was fired the same day she drafted a memo conveying her concerns. Attorney General Todd Blanche denied Oyer's account, stating during his confirmation hearing that he knew nothing about Mel Gibson or the specific letter when she was fired. Blanche noted that Oyer was dismissed for several reasons, including her recommendations to commute every individual on federal death row during the Biden administration. The Justice Department also criticized the recommendations Oyer made regarding the death sentences she oversaw.

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