Liz Oyer
It is striking that Liz Oyer, a self-described introvert, chose to go public with her concerns about the alarming trajectory of the Department of Justice under the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi. From 2022 to 2025, Oyer served as the lead attorney in the Justice Department’s pardon division, a traditionally nonpartisan position charged with evaluating applications for presidential pardons and clemency and providing recommendations to the White House.
Oyer’s first indication of a sinister shift in the DOJ’s mode of operation came when she discovered that her office would not be involved in matters related to pardons for the violent actions of individuals connected to the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
A more personal and consequential shock followed in March 2025. She was abruptly dismissed from a job she loved. The termination stemmed from her refusal to recommend restoring gun rights to actor Mel Gibson, who had a prior domestic violence conviction and was reportedly a friend of Donald Trump. Shortly after the White House became aware of her decision, Oyer was removed from a meeting, given a brief opportunity to collect her belongings, and escorted out of the building.
In the aftermath of her firing, Oyer transformed her pain and sense of betrayal into public advocacy. Departing from her reserved nature, she established a Substack newsletter titled “Lawyer Oyer,” analyzing and critiquing legal developments and actions within the DOJ. She also became a frequent commentator on major news platforms, raising concerns about constitutional principles and the rule of law.
Oyer was exceedingly qualified for the position she had held. She graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and earned her law degree from Harvard Law School, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Because of her courage and capacity for independent thought she lost a job, but the ordeal had compelled her to serve democracy in a new way.
For Oyer, the existential threat of our time is complacency: the tendency of institutions and individuals working in them to choose the path of least resistance in response to presidential departures from governing norms and the rule of law. That is a pattern she finds deeply disappointing and alarming. She believes that silence amounts to collaboration and that Americans need to meet the moment this with action and strength.
“Trump has succeeded in turning the Department of Justice into his own personal law firm. It is a very powerful institution that has the ability to lock people up, to strip away freedoms, and even in cases when someone is not put in prison, being on the other side of an investigation can ruin someone's life. It's incredibly invasive, it's incredibly costly.”
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 16, 2025