US Politics
Top DOJ official dismissed after she refused to reinstate gun rights for Trump ally Mel Gibson: Report
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The Trump administration dismissed a Justice Department lawyer after she refused a request to restore gun rights to Hollywood actor and Donald Trump ally Mel Gibson, according to a report.
DOJ pardon attorney Elizabeth G. Oyer said she was tapped two weeks ago to join a working group reviewing cases of individuals with past convictions who could be eligible to have their gun rights restored.
After narrowing down the candidates to nine people with old convictions and a low risk of recidivism, Oyer said senior Justice Department officials asked her to add Gibson to the list, despite his 2011 misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence.
“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,” Oyer told The New York Times.
“He then essentially explained to me that Mel Gibson has a personal relationship with President Trump and that should be sufficient basis for me to make a recommendation and that I would be wise to make the recommendation,” she said a senior official told her about the recommendation.
Gibson, along with actors Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight, was tapped by the Trump administration in January to serve as a “special ambassador” to Hollywood.
Oyer continued to insist that Gibson, who had faced a previous scandal in 2006 for being pulled over on suspicion of a DUI and berating a police officer with antisemitic comments, was a poor fit for firearms access under regular DOJ standards.
By Friday, she said she was dismissed from the department, along with other career employees.
A State Department official told The Independent the Gibson case had no bearing on the dismissal.
The Trump administration has fired numerous Justice Department personnel since taking office, including officials who worked on the federal criminal investigations into Trump.
It has also punished law firms that assisted special counsel Jack Smith in his investigation of Trump, stripping their security clearances.