A federal judge in New York warned officials in the Department of Justice, on Wednesday, that continuing to comment on Luigi Mangione’s case publicly could result in sanctions against the prosecution or relief for Mangione – such as losing the death penalty.
District Judge Margaret Garnett reprimanded officials in her order, demanding to know how two senior DOJ officials posted on X, appearing to endorse President Donald Trump’s claim that Mangione is guilty of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson before a trial has occurred.
The now-deleted posts “appear to be in direct violation” of a court rule that prohibits lawyers and non-lawyer employees of a lawyer’s office from releasing opinions about an ongoing case if it could interfere with a fair trial, the judge said.
Lawyers for Mangione have asked the judge to preclude the government from pursuing the death penalty against Mangione, arguing that statements from DOJ employees on X and senior Trump administration officials on Fox News are “prejudicial.”
Although Garnett has yet to rule whether or not the death penalty should be permitted, she indicated in Wednesday’s order that officials continuing to make comments about Mangione could lead to sanctions that include “relief specific to the prosecution of this matter.”
Garnett said she would consider the statements that DOJ employees made last week while weighing Mangione’s request to take the death penalty off the table.
The DOJ has until October 3 to respond with a “sworn declaration” explaining how the “violations” occurred and what they will do to ensure they stop, relaying the message to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and advising Blanche of potential future sanctions.
The Justice Department declined to comment for this story.
Since arresting and charging Mangione, 27, with the murder of Thompson last year, the president and other senior members of the administration have made statements claiming Mangione committed the crime.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the federal and state charges against him
New York criminal code prohibits lawyers and staff tied to ongoing litigation from voicing opinions outside of the courtroom about the case that could compromise the integrity of the trial.
Earlier this month, Trump went on Fox News and declared Mangione "shot someone in the back as clear as you're looking at me."
The clip, which a White House-affiliated account posted on X, was re-posted by Chad Gilmartin, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, who said “POTUS is absolutely right.”
Another Justice Department employee, Brian Nieves, the associate deputy attorney general, re-posted Gilmartin’s post.
Gilmartin’s post was later deleted.
Mangione’s lawyers pointed to the recent example as just one of several instances where officials have commented on their client, hurting Mangione’s chances of a fair trial.
They also pointed to statements made by Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing she would seek the death penalty in Mangione’s case and a Trump administration official going on Fox News to compare Mangione’s trial to “a recent, tragic, high-profile murder.”
