Fired Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer Sues DOJ, Saying She Was Removed for Refusing a 'Political Favor' on Mel Gibson's Gun Rights

Former Justice Department pardon attorney Liz Oyer sued the department on September 3 in federal court in Washington over her March 2025 termination. Her complaint says she was fired after declining a request from the staff of then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to add actor Mel Gibson to a list of people for whom the department would recommend restoring gun rights. Oyer says she objected on public safety grounds because of Gibson's prior domestic violence conviction, and that hours after she drafted a memo conveying her concerns she was pulled from a meeting, handed a termination letter by security officers and escorted out.

The suit is one of a series brought by career Justice Department staff challenging removals, and it tests whether civil service and First Amendment protections limit terminations tied to perceived political disloyalty.

Oyer seeks a declaration that her firing was unlawful and reinstatement. She filed after the Merit Systems Protection Board left her case in what she described as prolonged limbo. Blanche, now attorney general, has denied her account, saying at his confirmation hearing that he knew nothing of Gibson when he fired her.