After opposing to restore actor Mel Gibson’s rights to carry a gun, the Department of Justice fired US pardon attorney, Elizabeth G. Oyer. Gibson, a supporter of The Fascist Felon, lost his gun rights after a 2011 domestic violence misdemeanor conviction.
“Unfortunately, experienced professionals throughout the Department are afraid to voice their opinions because dissent is being punished,” she said. “Decisions are being made based on relationships and loyalty, not based on facts or expertise or sound analysis, which is very alarming given that what is at stake is our public safety.”
A Justice Department official familiar with the matter told NBC News that Oyer’s firing was not related to the Gibson case. “The Mel Gibson decision did not play a role in termination decision,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “The paperwork was done before the Mel Gibson email went out.”
But a second senior Justice Department official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Oyer’s ouster “is part of a very concerning set of personnel moves across the federal government and at DOJ” in which officials who might act as checks on abuses of power were being ousted.
The pardon attorney is a non-political role, supervising matters of clemency and recommendations for presidential pardons. Elizabeth Oyer was appointed under Joe Biden’s presidency in 2022. She told the Times she had been working on a project to restore gun ownership rights to some people convicted of crimes and misdemeanors, a power held by the justice department but not often used.
A list of 95 candidates was whittled down to nine by senior figures, Oler said, then “sent … back to me saying: ‘We would like you to add Mel Gibson to this memo.’”
