A Department of Justice (DOJ) pardon attorney's sudden termination has sparked controversy over her opposition to restoring gun rights to actor Mel Gibson.
According to The Daily Caller, Elizabeth G. Oyer was fired from her position after she opposed restoring gun rights to Trump supporter Mel Gibson, who was previously convicted of a misdemeanor battery charge in 2011.
The dismissal came shortly after Oyer's resistance to Gibson's gun rights restoration. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche delivered the termination notice, which took immediate effect. Oyer later criticized the Trump administration in a Rolling Stone opinion piece, accusing the DOJ of bullying tactics.
Oyer's tenure as pardon attorney was marked by her strong advocacy for progressive criminal justice reform. She made history as the first public defender to hold the position, which involves reviewing clemency applications and providing recommendations.
During her time at the DOJ, Oyer openly acknowledged considering systemic racial disparities in the clemency recommendation process. She expressed these views during a 2022 address to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
In a 2021 opinion piece, she argued against using prosecution as a solution to mass incarceration and advocated for Biden to prioritize public defenders' perspectives over prosecutors in criminal justice reform matters.
Under Oyer's oversight, President Biden granted clemency to thousands of convicted criminals, including several high-profile cases that drew significant criticism.
The administration's most contentious decision came with the commutation of Leonard Peltier's sentence. Peltier had been convicted of murdering two FBI special agents at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1977. The FBI Agents Association expressed outrage at the decision.
The pardon office also oversaw clemency grants to numerous drug traffickers and financial criminals. Among them were Francesk Shkami, who led an international drug trafficking organization, and Rita Crundwell, who embezzled $53.7 million from Dixon, Illinois.
As Biden concluded his presidency, he issued a series of controversial pardons and commutations that included death row inmates and family members.
He commuted the sentences of 37 death row inmates to life imprisonment without parole. These included individuals convicted of particularly brutal crimes, such as Richard Allen Jackson, who had confessed to kidnapping, rape, and murder.
The president also granted pardons to his son Hunter Biden, his brother James Biden, and several political figures, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Gen. Mark Milley. Alice Marie Johnson, who received a pardon from Trump in 2020, has been selected as Trump's new pardon czar.
Elizabeth Oyer's dismissal from the DOJ pardon attorney position initially appeared to center on her opposition to Mel Gibson's gun rights restoration. However, her progressive approach to criminal justice reform and oversight of controversial clemency decisions under the Biden administration reveal a more complex situation. The Trump administration has appointed Alice Marie Johnson to take over clemency recommendations, marking a significant shift in the DOJ's approach to pardons and commutations.
