Ex‑Pardon Attorney Sues DOJ Over Allegedly Unlawful Firing Linked to Mel Gibson Gun‑Rights Case

The former pardon attorney for the U.S. Justice Department, Elizabeth Oyer, sued the department and Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday, alleging they unlawfully fired her last year after she refused to recommend restoring actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights.

In the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Oyer says she was asked in early 2025, while serving as pardon attorney, to “disregard her duties and facilitate a political favor” for Gibson based on his relationship with President Trump.

The lawsuit alleges Oyer was directed to make it appear that an independent review had concluded Gibson, convicted of a domestic‑violence misdemeanor, should have his firearm rights restored. She says she declined the request and was subsequently fired by then‑Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a Guardian request for comment on the lawsuit and its allegations. After Oyer’s dismissal in March 2024, a department official told the New York Times that the dispute over Gibson’s gun rights played no role in the termination decision.

Gibson, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, lost his gun rights following a 2011 domestic‑violence conviction. The New York Times reported in April 2025 that the Justice Department was poised to restore those rights.

Oyer previously told the Times in an interview that she was dismissed a day after refusing to recommend restoring Gibson’s rights. Two individuals familiar with the matter reportedly corroborated Oyer’s account of internal DOJ discussions concerning firearms, domestic violence, and the actor’s celebrity status.

According to the lawsuit, Oyer served as pardon attorney from April 2022 until March 2025. Before that, she worked as an assistant federal public defender and senior litigation counsel in the federal public defender’s office for the District of Maryland.

Oyer argues in the suit that her removal was “unlawful,” violating her constitutional due‑process rights, the Civil Service Reform Act, and First Amendment protections, and that it infringed on fundamental separation‑of‑powers principles.

She is asking the court to declare her termination unlawful, reinstate her to federal service with full pay and benefits, and order the Justice Department to refrain from any further adverse personnel actions against her without the legally required protections.

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