Liz Oyer, who used to work as the Justice Department's pardon attorney, told a group of senators on July 16, 2026 that Todd Blanche fired her because she would not recommend giving Mel Gibson his gun rights back. Her statement directly contradicts what Blanche himself told senators the day before — that her firing had nothing to do with the Gibson case.

Blanche is Donald Trump's choice to become Attorney General, the top law enforcement official in the country. On July 15, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Oyer was not fired over the Gibson matter. He said her decisions as pardon attorney were "completely inconsistent with President Trump's authority" (The Guardian).

The pardon attorney's job is to review requests for pardons — official forgiveness of a crime — and advise the president on whether to grant them. The office is supposed to give honest, fair recommendations, not just approve favors for people with political connections.

Oyer called Blanche's account "provably false" and said documents and evidence back her up. She told senators she refused to "rubber-stamp a political favor for a friend of the president" and that it cost her her job. Gibson, a famous actor and Trump ally, was convicted of domestic violence in the past. Under federal law, that conviction takes away his right to own a gun unless the president officially restores that right.

The hearing's first day was opened by Senator Chuck Grassley on July 15. The second day, when Oyer testified, was held on July 16 (Senate Judiciary Committee).

Oyer did not stop at explaining her own firing. She urged senators not to "degrade our justice system further" by promoting Blanche. She said "to the American public, it looks like Mr Blanche is running the DoJ as Donald Trump's personal law firm." She accused Blanche of using law enforcement powers to go after people the president has personal grudges against, calling these "pointless vendettas" that waste resources and damage the DOJ's credibility (The Guardian).

Oyer's firing follows a clear trail. She lost her job on March 7, 2025. On that same day, another Justice Department official named Bobak Talebian was also fired. Talebian was in charge of handling FOIA requests — formal demands from the public for government records, which help keep agencies honest (Reuters).

Weeks later, in April 2025, armed U.S. marshals were sent to warn Oyer about her plans to testify before Congress (Reuters).

Oyer had been appointed pardon attorney in April 2022. Before that, she was a partner at a major law firm and then worked as a federal public defender — a lawyer who represents people too poor to hire their own (Reuters).

Senators now face two completely different stories about why Oyer was fired. Blanche says it was because her decisions went beyond or clashed with the president's authority on pardons. Oyer says it was because she refused to do a political favor for a well-connected friend of the president who had a criminal record that disqualified him from owning guns.

The broader context here is a confirmation process where senators must decide if Blanche is fit to lead the Justice Department. The core question is whether he would make independent decisions as Attorney General, or whether he would use the department to carry out the president's personal agenda. Oyer's charge that Blanche runs the DOJ as Trump's "personal law firm" speaks to exactly that concern.

The fact that armed marshals were sent to warn a former official against testifying, combined with two oversight officials being fired on the same day, suggests a focus on offices that exist to keep the government honest. The committee has not yet set a date to vote on Blanche's nomination.