The Justice Department refused to let domestic abusers be automatically barred from owning guns because President Donald Trump wanted an exception for his friend Mel Gibson, according to a new complaint from a former high-ranking DOJ official obtained by PunchUp.
Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer says she proposed a blanket ban on convicted domestic abusers regaining access to firearms while officials were developing a new gun rights restoration program. But, according to PunchUp’s Tom Latchem and Will Neal, Oyer alleges a senior DOJ official, Associate Deputy Attorney General Paul Perkins, told her that abusers couldn’t be excluded because “it was necessary to grant relief to Mel Gibson,” citing “the fact that Mr. Gibson had a personal relationship with President Trump.”
Oyer, who says she was fired in May for refusing to help restore Gibson’s gun rights, made the allegation in a complaint to the DOJ’s inspector general, according to the report.
The complaint “predates” reporting by The New Yorker, which first revealed the administration’s effort to restore the “Lethal Weapon” star’s gun rights, suggesting Gibson was part of the government’s calculations from the start.
Oyer has previously said she was ordered to add Gibson to a shortlist for restoration and was told: “We have to grant relief to Mel.” She is now suing the DOJ and Attorney General Todd Blanche over her firing.
According to the complaint, discussions in February 2025 centered on “whether those with domestic violence convictions should be eligible for reinstatement of gun rights.” Oyer proposed “excluding them entirely” or, at minimum, consulting the department’s Office on Violence Against Women about the risks. Instead, the complaint states, “Ms. Oyer was advised by Mr. Perkins that domestic violence offenders could not be excluded because it was necessary to grant relief to Mel Gibson.”
The report notes, under Blanche’s final rules issued this week, those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence can still apply, though the DOJ will generally deny restoration for 10 years absent “extraordinary circumstances.”
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