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Hawley SHREDS Biden’s pardon attorney over death row clemency recommendations, including Dylann Roof

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BS BRIEF:

  • Sen. Josh Hawley sharply challenged former Biden pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer during Thursday’s Senate hearing, focusing on her recommendation that President Biden consider commuting the sentences of federal death row inmates, including Dylann Roof and Robert Bowers.
  • Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee accused Oyer of giving insufficient consideration to victims and their families while advocating clemency for some of the nation’s most notorious murderers.
  • The clash comes as the Trump administration continues reversing Biden-era criminal justice policies, including restoring federal executions and reemphasizing support for victims’ rights.

HAWLEY TORCHES BIDEN PARDON ATTORNEY OVER PUSH TO SPARE MASS MURDERERS

One of the most dramatic moments in Washington this week didn’t involve the budget, foreign policy, or even the latest election controversy.

It involved a question that many Americans have likely asked themselves for years, why are government officials so often more concerned about criminals than victims?

That question exploded into the open Thursday when Sen. Josh Hawley confronted former Biden pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer over recommendations she made to commute the sentences of some of America’s most notorious killers.

The exchange occurred during Senate hearings connected to the confirmation process for Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche. Democrats had elevated Oyer as a key witness against Blanche and the Trump Justice Department.

Republicans had other plans.

Hawley focused heavily on Oyer’s recommendation that then-President Joe Biden consider clemency for federal death row inmates, including Charleston church murderer Dylann Roof and Pittsburgh synagogue killer Robert Bowers.

According to documents discussed during the hearing, Oyer recommended that Biden commute the sentences of all 40 federal death row inmates. Biden ultimately spared 37 inmates but left the death sentences intact for Roof, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers.

That didn’t stop Republicans from scrutinizing the recommendations.

“You said that actually Roof is not a compelling candidate for clemency, but you recommended it anyway,” Hawley told Oyer.

The Missouri senator then delivered the line that dominated coverage of the hearing.

“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?”

Roof murdered nine worshippers during a Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, one of the most horrific hate crimes in modern American history.

Hawley later turned his attention to Bowers, who murdered 11 Jewish worshippers during the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh.

“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 record, arguing that every inmate whose sentence was commuted would remain incarcerated for life.

“These are absolutely horrific cases,” she testified. “Every one of the individuals you mentioned will remain incarcerated for the rest of their lives.”

But Republicans weren’t satisfied.

Sen. Eric Schmitt accused Oyer of minimizing victims while elevating the concerns of convicted killers.

“You have no credibility to talk about Todd Blanche. You have none,” Schmitt said. “You recommended the commutation of murderers. You gave no quarter at all or any time to the victims of these brutal murders.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley also pressed Oyer about whether she contacted victims’ families before making her recommendations. Oyer declined to answer specific questions regarding clemency deliberations, citing executive privilege.

The confrontation highlights one of the sharpest differences between the Trump administration and its predecessor.

While Biden commuted most federal death sentences during his final weeks in office, the Trump Justice Department has signaled a return to a far tougher law-and-order approach. Federal officials recently announced the restoration of firing squads as an execution option in some cases and have repeatedly emphasized the rights of crime victims over criminal defendants.

For many Americans, Thursday’s hearing wasn’t merely about legal theory.

It was about whether justice means prioritizing those who committed horrific crimes or those forced to live with the consequences.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

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