'Alarmed': Ousted DOJ lawyer testifies she received late night 'threat' from ex-employer

Former Justice Department prosecutor Liz Oyer appeared before a House and Senate "spotlight hearing" on Monday and spoke about the ways in which the department has operated under President Donald Trump's presidency.

The hearing isn't an official one, as the Republicans are in power in the House and Senate, and only they can call an official congressional hearing.

The lawmakers announced that they intended to focus on the attacks by President Trump and his allies against lawyers, law firms and the court, which includes bringing in some of the fired DOJ staffers.

In her opening statement, Oyer told the Democrats, "Perhaps the most personally upsetting part of the story is the lengths to which the leadership of the department has gone to prevent me from testifying here today."

ALSO READ: What Trump's unconstitutional executive orders are really meant to do

She explained that at approximately 9:15 p.m. on Friday night, she learned that the deputy attorney general's office directed the Department of Security and Emergency Planning Service to send two armed U.S. Marshals to her home to serve her with a letter. It was the same letter that had already been sent via email. The marshals, she was told, would arrive between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.

"I was in the car with my husband and my parents, who are sitting behind me today, when I got the news the officers were on their way to my house where my teenage child was home alone," she told lawmakers. "Fortunately, due to the grace of a very decent person who understood how upsetting this would be to my family, I was able to confirm receipt of the letter to an email address and the deputies were called off. The letter had been emailed to me just before 8:00 that night. At no point did Mr. [Todd] Blanche's staff pick up the phone and call me before they sent armed deputies to my home. The letter was a warning to me about the risks of testifying here today."

She said she wouldn't "be bullied into concealing the ongoing corruption and abuse of power at the Department of Justice."

The DOJ is entrusted with keeping Americans safe, she explained. That does not include being "a personal favor bank for the president."

"Its career employees are not the president's personal debt collectors," she added. "I see only Democratic members here today, but this is not a partisan issue. It should alarm all Americans that the leadership of the Department of Justice appears to value political loyalty above the fair and responsible administration of justice."

"I came because I don't want to be complicit in what is happening inside the Department of Justice, which is the misuse of the resources of the department to do political favors for friends of the president, for loyalists. And I just don't believe that that is right. I don't want to be part of it. So I feel I need to speak up," Oyer later said while answering questions.

Oyer became well-known after she revealed that she was told to reinstate Mel Gibson's access to firearms despite his conviction of misdemeanor domestic violence in 2011. Anyone convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor or higher is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) walked through Oyer's story and how the request unfolded.

"Now they are disputing your account, calling you a liar," Raskin said, noting that she submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the documents that prove what she alleged.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) asked about whether the standard for Gibson applied to every other American.

"You looked at the facts, whether you should recommend restoration of gun rights," Schiff said. "You did not consider friendship with the president or any other permissible consideration. You just looked at the facts. Is that right?"

Oyer began by explaining that the matter wasn't one that they typically dealt with in her office.

"This was very different, not the normal work of the office, but we jumped in and tried to do our best to support it because we understood it was a priority of the leadership of the department," said Oyer. "And in doing so, a primary concern was considerations of public safety. Would we be able to recommend someone could safely receive their firearm rights back? And that was my concern in the case that you discussed, that I did not have enough evidence in front of me to make the recommendation that it could be done safely."

A stunned Schiff had her repeat the comment.

See the two clips below or at the link here.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

- YouTubeyoutu.be