The Department of Justice (DOJ) said two of its employees reposting a video of President Trump criticizing Luigi Mangione does not violate his right to a fair trial.
In a Sept. 23 filing in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, Mangione’s attorneys argued that the government “has continued to prejudice” their client with the posts. Prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York responded on Wednesday, writing that the reposts do not violate Mangione’s right to a fair trial because the individuals are not involved with the case.
Mangione, 27, is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside of a Manhattan hotel last December. He faces a federal death penalty charge that alleges he stalked Thompson prior to shooting the 50-year-old in the back.
Last month, two DOJ employees — Chad Gilmartin, deputy director of the office of public affairs, and Brian Nieves, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — reposted a video the White House’s rapid response account posted to the social platform X on Sept. 18. In the video, the president said Mangione “shot someone in the back as clear as you’re looking at me.”
The next day, Gilmartin reposted the video and said Trump was “absolutely right.” Nieves reposted Gilmartin’s comment a day later.
Mangione’s lawyers argued that the posts, along with statements from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and a Sept. 22 White House press release that referenced Mangione in touting the president’s efforts to combat “radical left violence,” increase the “prejudicial rhetoric” toward the defendant.
“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 argued.
Prosecutors, though, said Wednesday that the DOJ told Gilmartin and Nieves to delete the posts “upon becoming aware” of them. They added that Mangione’s attorneys have not offered evidence that prospective jurors have been impacted by the shared posts.
“[The two employees] operate entirely outside the scope of the prosecution team, possess no operational role in the investigative or prosecutorial functions of the Mangione matter, and are not ‘associated’ with this litigation,” the DOJ noted.
In addition to the federal death penalty case, Mangione also faces second-degree murder charges at the state level. A New York state judge dismissed terrorism charges against Mangione last month.
Source: The Hill - News
