Sen. Hawley Grills Former Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer Over Clemency Recommendations

EXCERPT:

HAWLEY: “Ms. Oyer, if I could just turn to you. You were President Biden’s pardon attorney, is that correct?”
OYER: “I was the Justice Department’s pardon attorney for the —”
HAWLEY: “You recommended — you made clemency recommendations to the White House whether or not to pardon inmates, is that correct?”
OYER: “My job was to make clemency recommendations —“ [crosstalk]
HAWLEY: “And in that capacity, you recommended that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, grant clemency to all 40 federal death row inmates, all of them, clear them out, correct?”
OYER: “Sir, as I told Chairman Grassley, I’m not free to discuss the recommendations that I made to the president.”
HAWLEY: “Well, that’s what your memo says. I mean, we have your memo. Your memo of November 4th, 2024 says, and I quote, ‘disparity and undue severity of sentence, which are present in many, if not all of these cases, have been recognized as grounds for clemency.’ And you went on to recommend in that memo and a series of other memos that are now recorded and public record, that the president of the United States grant clemency to murderers, rapists, and the most horrible offenders, all of them, clear death row completely out. I’m amazed you’ve been called here today. I’m absolutely amazed by it. But let’s just talk about the people who you recommended. You talk about honoring victims. The people who you recommended get clemency and live at the expense and sufferance of taxpayers for the rest of their lives. Let’s start with Dylann Roof. Dylann was a neo-Nazi who murdered 9 African-American worshipers at a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, 2015. Do you remember this case?”
OYER: “I do remember it very well.”
HAWLEY: “I would hope you did. Here’s his victims. Do you want to look at them? There they are, nine of them at a Bible study in a church, killed in cold blood. The DoJ knew from day one that he had decided — I’m going to quote from the prosecutors — ‘decided to attack African-Americans because of their race. He further decided to attack African-American worshipers in a black church in order to make his attack more notorious.’ More notorious. And yet you recommended that he be granted clemency, live at the expense of taxpayers for the rest of his life, substitute your judgment for that of the American judicial system. Do you stand by that recommendation today?”
OYER: “Sir, I’m not going to comment on the recommendations that I made, but I can tell you that Mr. Roof is going to die in prison as —“ [crosstalk]
HAWLEY: “Oh, he’s going to live in prison for a very long time because of you, because of your recommendations. And here’s what you said in your memo of October 30th, 2024. You said that actually Roof is not a compelling candidate for clemency, but you recommended it anyway. Why? Because he suffered from anxiety, you said, right? He suffered from anxiety. Did it ever occur to you that maybe the family of his victims might suffer a little bit of anxiety because he marched into their church and murdered them in cold blood because he was an incredible racist and he wanted to get on TV?”
OYER: “Sir —”
HAWLEY: “Do you regret it?”