Judge says Justice Department officials may have violated order not to post opinions about prosecuting Luigi Mangione
By Kara Scannell, CNN
(CNN) — A federal judge said two high-level Justice Department employees may have violated her order limiting public opinions about the prosecution of accused killer Luigi Mangione by reposting President Donald Trump’s statements about the case on X.
Judge Margaret Garnett ordered the Justice Department to respond by the end of next week and explain how the apparent violations happened. Garnett said if there are further violations of her order it could result in sanctions, including fines, contempt of court findings or actions specific to the case.
The judge also said she would consider Trump’s comments separately when she considers a motion challenging prosecutors’ decision to seek the death penalty.
A spokeswoman for DOJ declined to comment.
Lawyers for Mangione brought the X posts to the judge’s attention in a letter filed late Tuesday night arguing the statements are prejudicing the 27-year-old’s right to a fair trial. Mangione is facing federal murder and other charges for allegedly fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Justice Department will seek the death penalty. Mangione, who is also facing state murder charges, has pleaded not guilty.
“The Government has indelibly prejudiced Mr. Mangione by baselessly linking him to unrelated violent events, and left-wing extremist groups, despite there being no connection or affiliation,” his lawyers wrote to the judge.
Mangione’s lawyers said the troubling posts involve reposts of a clip of Trump’s interview on Fox News when he stated Mangione “shot someone in the back as clear as you’re looking at me.” A White House-related account posted a clip of the interview. It was reposted by the deputy director of DOJ’s public affairs unit, who works for Bondi and who added, “@POTUS is absolutely right.” The following day his post was reposted by the chief of staff to the deputy attorney general.
By Wednesday morning, Garnett, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, responded. “The statements referenced in the September 23 Letter by two high-ranking staff members of the Department of Justice, including within the Office of Attorney General, appear to be in direct violation of this Rule and the Court’s April 25 Order,” the judge wrote.
In April, the judge ordered the attorneys to follow a local rule that says parties to a criminal case shouldn’t make public opinions about the case that could interfere with a fair trial.
Mangione’s lawyers also raised statements by White House officials, including press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who called Mangione a “left-wing assassin,” and deputy White House chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, who said on Fox News that Mangione is an “anti-fascist.”
The judge said she would consider those statements when she weighs Mangione’s motion challenging the death penalty and seeking to dismiss the indictment, arguing the public perp walk and Bondi’s statements violated his constitutional rights.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
