LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Democrats in Congress don't have a lot of tools at their disposal. So they gathered yesterday for a, quote, "shadow hearing." They met without any Republicans to hear from former Justice Department attorneys who resigned or were fired by the Trump administration. NPR's Kristin Wright reports.
KRISTIN WRIGHT, BYLINE: The hearing was led by two of President Trump's most vocal critics, Representative Jamie Raskin and Senator Adam Schiff. As the minority party, Democrats can't call official hearings or issue subpoenas, but they're trying to put a spotlight on what they say are President Trump's attacks on the rule of law. One witness, former Justice Department pardon attorney Liz Oyer, testified in detail about her abrupt firing last month.
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LIZ OYER: Security officers were waiting for me in my office to serve me with termination papers and escort me out of the building.
WRIGHT: Oyer said she was let go in a three-sentence memo with no explanation hours after refusing to restore gun rights to actor and friend to Trump Mel Gibson, despite a domestic violence conviction. Oyer also said she and other members of the Pardon Office were never consulted or told of Trump's plans to pardon more than 1,500 January 6 defendants.
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OYER: 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.
WRIGHT: Former prosecutor Ryan Crosswell also testified. Crosswell resigned from the department's Public Integrity Section in February after department leadership pressured federal prosecutors to drop the corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
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RYAN CROSSWELL: And this action raised an even more chilling question - is the Justice Department, that will drop charges against those who acquiesce to a political demand, a Justice Department that will bring charges against those who don't?
WRIGHT: The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but President Trump has accused the Biden administration of weaponizing the Justice Department against conservatives in recent years. And since Trump's return to office, the department's new leadership has forced out many nonpolitical career attorneys as part of what it says is an effort to end the politicization of the department.
Kristin Wright, NPR News, Washington.
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