The Department of Justice (DOJ) has stated that two employees’ sharing of a video featuring President Trump criticizing Luigi Mangione does not infringe upon his right to a fair trial.
In a court submission dated September 23, Mangione’s legal team contended in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that these posts unduly prejudice their client. The prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office responded on Wednesday, asserting that the reposting was not a violation since the individuals were not part of the case.
At 27 years old, Mangione is charged with the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was 50, outside a Manhattan hotel last December. He is facing the possibility of the federal death penalty for stalking Thompson before the shooting incident.
Last month, two officials from the Justice Department, namely Deputy Director of Public Affairs Chad Gilmartin and Brian Nieves, who serves as chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, shared a video detailing the White House’s prompt response. In this video, Trump remarked that Mangione “shot someone in the back as clearly as he could see me.”
The day after the video was shared, Gilmartin remarked that Trump’s statement was “absolutely right,” a sentiment reiterated by Nieves the following day.
Mangione’s attorneys claimed that these posts echoed remarks made by White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and a White House statement released on September 22. They pointed to a press release that Mangione cited to highlight Trump’s actions against “radical left violence,” claiming it amplified biased rhetoric against the defendant.
They stated, “Efforts to portray Mr. Mangione as a ‘left-wing’ violent extremist are misleading and form part of a political narrative that is inappropriate for any criminal trial, particularly one that might involve the death penalty.”
However, prosecutors revealed on Wednesday that the Justice Department had instructed Gilmartin and Nieves to delete their posts once they were made aware of the situation, emphasizing that Mangione’s lawyers have not provided proof that these posts swayed potential jurors.
The DOJ clarified that the two employees operate independently of the prosecution team, hold no investigative role in Mangione’s case, and are not connected to it in any official capacity.
In addition to facing the federal death penalty, Mangione is also charged with second-degree murder at the state level. Notably, a New York judge dismissed terrorism charges against him last month.
