Lawyers for accused murder Luigi Mangione have asked a federal judge to dismiss his indictment or remove the possibility of the death penalty because of what they called prejudicial comments by the Trump administration. Mangione is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last December.
“Unlike any of its predecessors since the Watergate era, the Department of Justice has not acted independently of the White House in this case -- or in several others," according to the legal filing. "This departure from the longstanding principle of prosecutorial independence has created a blurred and constitutionally troubling line between the Department of Justice and the executive office of the president."
Mangione’s defense team expressed concern that comments will influence potential jurors.
“The Department of Justice and the White House have coordinated to cultivate and disseminate negative public rhetoric deliberately designed to taint the prospective jury pool,” defense attorneys Karen Agnifilo and Avi Moskowitz wrote. “The significance of these prejudicial statements is that they have life-or-death consequences for Mr. Mangione.”
The lawyers cited a recent Wall Street Journal story saying that UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley had met with Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to discuss Medicare and other issues.
“UnitedHealth’s continued financial viability depends upon maintaining the narrative that Mr. Mangione -- rather than the company or its business practices -- is the villain,” they wrote. They said they wanted to determine whether the “other issues” mentioned in the Journal article “precipitated coordinated efforts by the White House and the Department of Justice to malign and prejudice Mr. Mangione.”
Federal prosecutors countered that President Donald Trump’s social media posts calling Mangione “a pure assassin” and subsequent reposts by Justice Department officials, did not prejudice Mangione “because the statements were made by persons not associated with this matter,” ABC News reported.
A date has not been set for the trial, and prosecutors have argued that the public will forget about anything Trump or others have said before it begins.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including one count of using a firearm to commit murder could result in a death penalty, and pleaded not guilty to state charges in New York and Pennsylvania. His Pennsylvania case is on hold as he remains in jail in New York. Federal officials previously denied a request by Blair County, Pa., prosecutors to allow Mangione to be taken to Pennsylvania to make in-person court appearances, and Mangione so far has refused to appear remotely.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.