Liz Oyer, the Justice Department's former career pardon attorney, testified at Todd Blanche's Senate confirmation hearing that he fired her two days after he was confirmed as Deputy Attorney General. She said his staff pressed her to restore gun rights to a convicted domestic abuser with a personal relationship with the president, and that Blanche sent U.S. Marshals to her home to try to keep her from speaking with members of Congress.
The receipt
- Who
- Liz Oyer
- Where
- hearing - Senate Judiciary Committee, Todd Blanche confirmation hearing
- Original footage
- MS NOW · watch the full video from this moment
- Length
- 55 seconds, unedited within the cut
Read the transcript
Two days after Mr. Blanche was confirmed as deputy attorney general, he fired me from my position as the department's career pardon attorney. I declined to rubber stamp a political favor for a friend of the president and it cost me my job. Mr. Blanche's office had asked me to recommend restoring the gun ownership rights of a convicted domestic sensitive to domestic abuse. I raised concerns about public safety. But Mr. Blanche's staff pressured me to go along anyway. I did not. But because this particular domestic abuser had a personal relationship with the president, Mr. Blanche's staff asked me to set aside my concerns. When I wouldn't, Mr. Blanche fired me within hours. He then took extraordinary measures to silence me. He sent U .S. Marshals to my home in an effort to prevent me from speaking with members of Congress.
Machine transcript of the clip's audio; names are checked, small words may differ.