Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri grilled former Biden pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer on Thursday over her recommendation that then-President Joe Biden consider sparing Charleston church killer Dylann Roof from the death penalty.
Hawley, along with several other Republican members, repeatedly pressed Oyer about a November 2024 memorandum recommending clemency for the remaining federal death row inmates, including Roof, who murdered nine Black parishioners during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.
"You said that actually Roof is not a compelling candidate for clemency, but you recommended it anyway," Hawley told Oyer, citing her memo. "Why? Because he suffered from anxiety."
Oyer's recommendation to spare Roof's life sparked a heated exchange between her and Hawley, who questioned whether she had considered the pain and anxiety caused to the families of Roof's victims.
Hawley also questioned Oyer about Robert Bowers, who was convicted in the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh that killed 11 Jewish worshipers. "This guy killed people just because they're Jews," Hawley said. "A jury recommended that he be sentenced to death, and you substituted your judgment for theirs, and now he's going to live. Are you proud of that?"
Oyer defended her work, emphasizing that every inmate whose sentence was commuted will remain imprisoned for life. "These are absolutely horrific cases," she said. "Every one of the individuals you mentioned will remain incarcerated for the rest of their lives, most likely in a maximum-security prison facility."
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey condemned his Republican colleagues' line of questioning with Oyer later in the hearing. "The treatment here, to me, is just outrageous," Booker said. "And I apologize on behalf of the United States Senate."
Oyer served as U.S. pardon attorney from April 2022 until March 2025, when then-Deputy Attorney General Blanche fired her. She has argued the firing was politically motivated because she advised against Mel Gibson, President Donald Trump's special envoy to Hollywood.
Oyer also accused the Trump Justice Department of prioritizing "protecting powerful men" over victims, citing Blanche's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and Ghislaine Maxwell's transfer to a lower-security prison as reasons he should not become attorney general.
Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri questioned Oyer about her own "credibility" after recommending serial killers and mass shooters be taken off death row. Schmitt cited a report from the Justice Department finding that Oyer's 73-page memorandum only dedicated three paragraphs to address the grievances of the victims' families.
Schmitt also accused Oyer of hypocrisy, saying that she had denied basic facts and given no quarter to the victims of these brutal murders. "You have no credibility to talk about Todd Blanche," Schmitt said. "You have none."
