Summary:
The U.S. Justice Department dispatched armed U.S. marshals to deliver a letter warning a fired career pardon attorney about testifying to congressional Democrats, her lawyer said in a letter seen by Reuters on Monday.
“This highly unusual step of directing armed law enforcement officers to the home of a former Department of Justice employee who has engaged in no misconduct, let alone criminal conduct, simply to deliver a letter, is both unprecedented and completely inappropriate,” Michael Bromwich, a lawyer representing fired pardon attorney Liz Oyer, wrote to the Justice Department.
The Marshals were called off on Friday only after Oyer acknowledged receiving the letter, once she located it in a secondary email that she had not been using to communicate with the department’s human resources officials, Bromwich wrote.
While U.S. Marshals deputies are sometimes used to serve congressional subpoenas or protect witnesses, dispatching them to deliver a letter from the Justice Department is unusual, one former official said.
A Justice Department spokesman did not comment.
Oyer, who served as the pardon attorney during President Joe Biden’s tenure, was one of several career officials fired by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on March 7.
Oyer has since told U.S. media outlets that her firing came shortly after she declined to recommend restoring gun rights to actor Mel Gibson, a supporter of President Donald Trump. She was one of several Justice Department officials who testified on Monday afternoon before a hearing organized by Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate about the Trump administration’s treatment of the Justice Department and law firms who act in cases disliked by the Republican president.
Can’t wait for USSC to side with DOJ allowing him to use a police force that rolls up under the judiciary.
I would have said, “Thanks.”, turned around and slammed the door shut in their faces.
According to the article, she wasn’t home. Her teenage child was home alone.
Apparently, the DoJ sent the letter to Oyer in an email to an address that she no longer used. Since she didn’t confirm receipt of the letter, they then sent marshals to her home to “inform” her about it. While Oyer was in the car, she was informed by an associate that the marshals were on their way to her house. Oyer quickly logged into the email account and confirmed that she got the letter so DoJ would call off the marshals because she knew that marshals turning up at her house would be terrifying for her child.
Now, clearly the marshals showing up like this is going to intimidate a witness. There’s no way that DoJ doesn’t know that. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sent the email to an address they knew she wouldn’t be using anymore since being fired. That way they could claim to be justified in sending the marshals.
One other take away from this, that may be overlooked. This former lawyer for the DoJ knew that the marshals showing up at her house would terrify her teenage child. The reputation of American law enforcement is now one of terror across the board. There was a time in this nation when children were told that they could trust the police. Don’t talk to strangers! If you’re lost and scared, find a nice policeman. Not anymore. Now it is the default assumption that the police turning up at your door is something to be terrified of. Even a lawyer for the DoJ knows that the cops are not the good guys anymore.
This is kinda a fantasy. That might work reliably if you are never alone. 100% never.
