MSNBC host Alicia Melendez and former DOJ pardon attorney Liz Oyer on MSNBC on September 25, 2025

Former Department of Justice (DOJ) pardon attorney Liz Oyer said Thursday the current DOJ prosecutors "are in a very hard situation where they have to choose between fulfilling their duties to uphold the constitution and follow the rules" when it comes to the potential indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Oyer said, "I hope that they choose to lead with integrity and not to let their principles and duties be compromised to achieve a political objective. Essentially, what's happening now is the longstanding practices of the Department of Justice are being turned on their head."

She continued: "Prosecutors are required to start with facts and evidence and pursue cases from there. It is quite the opposite to start with a target and then try to build a case around them, which is what they're being asked to do here."

Oyer called on lawyers to defy the administration's controversial moves.

"This is the type of thing that a lawyer could lose their law license over," she said. "So I hope that people are taking a long view of this within the Justice Department and intend to stand up for what's right."

Oyer maintained that DOJ staff should "allow themselves to be fired or to quit, if that's what it takes to avoid doing something that would be very destructive to our justice system."

Trump's DOJ is expected to indict Comey for allegedly lying to Congress in 2020. The indictment is expected to come from the Eastern District of Virginia, whose new U.S. Attorney, Lindsey Halligan, is an insurance attorney with no prior prosecutorial experience. Halligan replaced former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, who was forced to resign after telling Trump he wasn't comfortable bringing charges against Comey or other Trump rivals like New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)

Watch the segment below:

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