A judge on Wednesday said the Justice Department has violated court rules concerning public statements made by officials about Luigi Mangione. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A federal judge overseeing the criminal case of accused murderer Luigi Mangione rebuked the Trump administration on Wednesday for making public statements that could prejudice the jurors.
The written order from Judge Margaret Garnett of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York ordered the senior Justice Department officials to explain how they came to make comments calling Luigi the murderer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in violation of Local Criminal Rule 23.1 and an April 25 court order against speaking publicly about the case.
“The Government is also directed to advise the Deputy Attorney General, for dissemination within the Department as appropriate, that future violations may result in sanctions, which could include personal financial penalties, contempt of court findings or relief specific to the prosecution of this matter,” Garnett said.
The rebuke stems from comments President Donald Trump made last week during a Fox News interview in which he said that Mangione “shot someone in the back as clear as you’re looking at me.”
The excerpt of the interview was shared on X by an official White House account. That post was then reposted by senior Justice Department officials Deputy Director of Public Affairs Chad Gilmartin and Chief of Staff and Associate Deputy Attorney General for the Deputy Attorney General Brian Nieves.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Mangione during a White House press briefing on Monday a “left wing assassin” who “shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson right in the back in New York City.”
Following this, the White House released a press statement Tuesday titled “President Trump isn’t backing down from crushing radical left violence” in support of his designation of Antifa as a terrorist organization. In the press release, it states members of the public celebrated Manigone “gunning down” Thompson. It also accuses Mangione of being a member of Antifa.
Then on Tuesday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller appeared on Fox News and said Thompson “was brutally gunned down by another self-described so-called anti-fascist.”
Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Thompson on Dec. 4 in Manhattan. The Justice Department is seeking the death penalty.
Earlier this month, a state judge dismissed terrorism charges filed against him, finding evidence insufficient.
Mangione’s defense is seeking to have the death penalty indictment filed against their client dismissed on the grounds of the inability to have a fair trial due to such comments.
On Tuesday, they filed a letter informing the federal court of the recent comments made by the Trump administration officials, which they said “indelibly prejudiced Mr. Mangione.”
The incident comes as the United States continues to deal with the fallout from the fatal shooting of conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk earlier this month.
Trump has since vowed to target political violence stemming from the left, and has made threats to go after left-leaning organizations he says fund and support such violence.
Members of the Trump administration have pointed to Mangione as evidence for the crackdown.
In the filing on Tuesday, Mangione’s attorneys said that they have seen increased prejudicial rhetoric against their client following Kirk’s death.
“The attempts to connect Mr. Mangione with these incidents and paint him as a ‘left wing’ violent extremist are false, prejudicial and part of a greater political narrative that has no place in any criminal case, especially one where the death penalty is at stake,” they said.
“Mr. Mangione in fact does not support these violent actions, does not condone past or future political violence, nor is he in any way aligned with the group mentioned in the White House press release.”
Garnett said Wednesday that the government is to respond to her order via letter by Oct. 3.
