The Trump Justice Department summoned US Marshals to deliver a letter to fired Biden-era pardon attorney Liz Oyer to warn her about her testimony at a ‘shadow’ hearing by congressional Democrats.
President Trump’s Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche fired Elizabeth Oyer last month.
Elizabeth Oyer told The New York Times she was fired for refusing to restore actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights.
“Giving guns back to domestic abusers is a serious matter that, in my view, is not something that I could recommend lightly because there are real consequences that flow from people who have a history of domestic violence being in possession of firearms,” Elizabeth Oyer told The New York Times.
The Justice Department tried to invoke executive privilege and warned Oyer against testifying in a shadow hearing on Monday.
Liz Oyer – who was fired as US Pardon Attorney allegedly for rejecting instruction to help restore Mel Gibson’s gun rights – received this letter from Justice Dept before her appearance at Senate hearing
DOJ tells Oyer she can’t disclose agency records on gun right restorations pic.twitter.com/M4F3J01BDt
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 7, 2025
Oyer’s Deep State lawyer Michael Bromwich (he also represented Andrew McCabe) blasted the Justice Department for asserting their authority.
“This highly unusual step of directing armed law enforcement officers to the home of a former Department of Justice employee who has engaged in no misconduct, let alone criminal conduct, simply to deliver a letter, is both unprecedented and completely inappropriate,” Michael Bromwich wrote to the Justice Department, according to Reuters.
Excerpt from Reuters:
The U.S. Justice Department sent armed U.S. Marshals to deliver a letter warning a fired career pardon attorney about testifying to congressional Democrats, her lawyer said in a letter seen by Reuters on Monday.
The Marshals were called off on Friday only after Oyer acknowledged having received the letter once she had located it in a secondary email that she had not been using to communicate with the department’s human resources officials, Bromwich wrote.
While U.S. Marshals deputies are sometimes used to serve congressional subpoenas or protect witnesses, dispatching them to deliver a letter from the Justice Department is unusual, one former official said.
A Justice Department spokesman did not have any immediate comment. Oyer declined to comment through a spokesman ahead of the hearing.
Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin put on an Oscar-worthy performance on Monday as he decried the Trump Administration’s decision to mobilize US Marshals to warn Oyer against testifying.
WATCH:
The Trump Admin sent armed marshals in a mafia-style intimidation campaign to silence and intimidate a witness set to testify in my spotlight hearing with @SenAdamSchiff.
Today, Liz Oyer appeared undaunted, standing for what is right, lawful and just, to give her testimony. pic.twitter.com/w6twYHaC8T
— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) April 8, 2025
Liz Oyer brushed off the warning from the DOJ and testified to congressional Democrats.
“I’m here because I will not be bullied into concealing the ongoing corruption and the abuse of power at the Department of Justice,” Oyer told Democrats at a show hearing on Monday.
“The DOJ is entrusted with keeping us safe, upholding the rule of law and protecting our civil rights.
WATCH:
NEW: Yesterday, the Justice Department sent armed marshals to warn former U.S. pardon attorney Liz Oyer not to disclose internal DOJ information during her Senate testimony.
Today, Oyer is speaking out to condemn the DOJ’s actions and defend the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/uVvO83lfi2
— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) April 7, 2025
