Mangione's attorneys: Trump administration preventing fair trial [View all]
Source: ABC News
The Trump administration is making Luigi Mangione “a pawn to further its political agenda” and uttering or posting statements about him that are prejudicing the accused killer’s prospects at a fair trial, his attorneys argued Friday in a new court filing that asked a federal judge to either dismiss the indictment or take the death penalty off the table.
Federal prosecutors said 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.” The defense said the government can't make that claim because of Trump’s unprecedented intervention in Justice Department matters.
“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," the new defense filing said. "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 is accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in December 2024. He pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including one death-eligible count of using a firearm to commit murder, and pleaded not guilty to state charges in New York and Pennsylvania. Defense attorneys have argued in a separate filing the death-eligible charge should not apply.
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mangiones-attorneys-trump-admin-making-132946286.html
Donny never learned how to STFU
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