Justice Department seeks to restrict testimony of fired pardon attorney [View all]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is attempting to use executive privilege to prevent its fired pardon attorney from telling Congress about the circumstances of her departure, and dispatched armed deputy U.S. marshals to her home to deliver restrictions on her testimony, according to letters made public on Monday.

Liz Oyer, who has said she was fired as the department’s pardon attorney last month after refusing a request to recommend that actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights be restored, is among several witnesses invited to appear Monday before a joint hearing of House and Senate lawmakers.

The hearing, which among other witnesses is to feature a former public corruption prosecutor who resigned under protest amid the Justice Department’s dismissal of its case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, will represent the first time in the new Trump administration that newly departed Justice Department lawyers have spoken publicly before Congress about the circumstances of their departures and their concerns with leadership of the federal law enforcement agency.

Ahead of the hearing, the Justice Department warned Oyer that any testimony about deliberations concerning the pardon process and the restoration of gun rights would run afoul of executive privilege, a legal principle that broadly refers to a president’s power to keep information from the courts, Congress and the public to protect the confidentiality of presidential decision-making.

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By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Updated 1:02 PM EDT, April 7, 2025


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-mel-gibson-congress-667a79b368b215bb0cd7b0333f372fc7