Oyer v. Blanche

Case Overview

Elizabeth Oyer served as the Pardon Attorney, a career position at the Justice Department, until she was removed in early 2025. In her complaint, filed September 3, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Oyer alleges that shortly after President Trump took office she was asked to facilitate a political favor for the actor Mel Gibson, a Trump ally who had been convicted of a domestic violence offense. According to the complaint, Oyer was pressed to make it appear that an independent review had concluded Gibson's firearm rights should be restored. She declined, and shortly afterward she was fired by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who now serves as Attorney General and is named as a defendant along with the Department of Justice.

Oyer contends the removal was unlawful. She says the Department gave her none of the notice-and-opportunity-to-be-heard procedures that Congress requires for career civil servants, and instead issued a terse notice purporting to remove her under Article II of the Constitution. The complaint brings six counts: violation of Fifth Amendment due process, violation of the First Amendment based on her perceived political affiliation, violation of the Appointments Clause and Article II, violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, violation of the separation of powers, and ultra vires action. Oyer asks the court to declare the removal void from the outset, order her reinstatement, and restore her back pay and benefits.