Trump Official Fired After Refusing Mel Gibson ‘Favor’

President Donald Trump’s former pardon chief is accusing the Justice Department of illegally firing her after she refused to support restoring actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights, according to an explosive federal lawsuit.

Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer claims she faced mounting pressure from senior Trump administration officials to recommend that Gibson regain his firearm privileges, allegedly in part because of the Hollywood star’s personal relationship with Trump.

When she refused, Oyer says she was out of a job within hours.

Oyer served as U.S. Pardon Attorney from April 2022 until March 2025. According to her lawsuit, she was assigned to a working group shortly after Trump returned to the White House that was tasked with identifying people with criminal convictions who could potentially have their gun rights restored.

Her office initially compiled a list of roughly 95 candidates, focusing on people with older, nonviolent convictions who had already undergone extensive background investigations.

That list was later narrowed to just nine people by staff working for then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

But Oyer claims Blanche’s team then told her to add Gibson.

The Oscar-winning actor had lost his gun rights following a domestic violence conviction, according to the lawsuit, and had allegedly asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to use her authority to restore them.

Oyer said Gibson’s case immediately raised red flags.

Unlike the other candidates, she claims Gibson had not gone through the same lengthy background review, leaving her office unable to properly assess whether he posed any risk of future misconduct.

On March 6, 2025, Oyer allegedly informed Blanche’s staff that she could not recommend restoring Gibson’s firearm rights.

That decision, she claims, triggered intense pressure behind the scenes.

According to the lawsuit, a senior official called Oyer and pushed her to reconsider, specifically pointing to Gibson’s personal relationship with Trump.

Oyer described the official’s manner as a “bullying tone” and claims she was essentially warned that supporting Gibson would be the wiser move.

The following day, Oyer submitted another memo.

Instead of recommending Gibson, she wrote that the final decision should be left to the Attorney General.

Hours later, she claims, everything changed.

Oyer says a colleague suddenly pulled her out of a meeting and informed her that DOJ security officers were waiting inside her office.

She was then handed a termination memo signed by Blanche, ordered to collect her belongings and escorted from the building.

Now Oyer is challenging not only why she was fired, but whether Blanche had the legal authority to fire her at all.

Her lawsuit argues that the Justice Department has historically taken the position that only the Attorney General can remove certain department officials under the constitutional authority cited in her termination.

At the time Oyer was dismissed, the Attorney General was Bondi — not Blanche.

Oyer also points to a separate DOJ court filing in which the department argued that an inferior officer “may only be removed by the Attorney General” and that no other Justice Department official possesses that authority.

The former pardon chief is now asking a federal judge to declare her firing unlawful and legally void.

She also wants her job back, along with the salary and benefits she claims she lost.

The lawsuit could create another headache for the Trump administration as it raises serious questions about whether political connections influenced the handling of Gibson’s request — and whether a longtime Justice Department official was punished for refusing to give a presidential ally special treatment.