Lawyers for Luigi Mangione, in a new court filing late Friday night, argued that Attorney General Pam Bondi should have recused herself from his federal murder case because she used to be a partner at a lobbying firm that represents UnitedHealthcare, which employed the man he is accused of killing.
Mr. Mangione’s lawyers, arguing that Ms. Bondi’s past role with the firm posed a conflict of interest in the case, asked that the judge block the government from pursuing the death penalty against their client.
“Any criminal defendant, let alone one whom the government is trying to kill, is due a criminal process that is untainted by the financial interests of his prosecutors,” Mr. Mangione’s lawyers wrote.
UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive, Brian Thompson, 50, was shot and killed just over a year ago outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel. Mr. Mangione, 27, was later arrested and charged in the killing.
Ballard Partners, the lobbying firm where Ms. Bondi was a partner before President Trump appointed her to head the Justice Department, has UnitedHealth Group as a client, the lawyers said, and UnitedHealthcare is that company’s largest subsidiary.
On its website, Ballard lists UnitedHealth Group as one of its health care and pharmaceuticals clients. According to Mr. Mangione’s lawyers, the health care giant paid the lobbying firm $250,000 for services in 2024, a figure that has risen to $450,000 so far this year.
Mr. Mangione’s lawyers, in their brief, argued that Ms. Bondi’s involvement in the federal case, as Ballard Partners continues to lobby the government on behalf of the health group and its subsidiary, violates Mr. Mangione’s right to due process. In addition, they said, in a letter to the Justice Department’s ethics official, Ms. Bondi agreed that she would not participate personally in any matter involving “specific parties in which I know Ballard Partners is a party or represents a party” for one year, unless authorized to beforehand.
Mr. Trump tapped Ms. Bondi for attorney general in November 2024, and she was confirmed by the Senate in February.
Spokespeople for the Justice Department and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office is handling the prosecution, was recused from the case early this year.
It is not the first time that the lawyers have accused Ms. Bondi of acting with prejudice against their client.
In April, the judge overseeing the federal case, Margaret Garnett, ordered Justice Department officials to stop commenting on the case after Ms. Bondi announced that the government would seek the death penalty “as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”
Mr. Mangione is accused of killing Mr. Thompson before an investors’ meeting on Dec. 4, 2024. He was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa. The police said they had recovered several items, including what the authorities called a manifesto decrying America’s “parasitic” insurance industry and its system of for-profit health care.
In addition to facing federal charges, Mr. Mangione was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney on state charges including second-degree murder, which carries a potential sentence of 25 years to life. A three-week pretrial hearing in the case concluded this week.
In recent federal court filings, Mr. Mangione’s lawyers have pointed to statements from Ms. Bondi and other federal officials, including Mr. Trump, that they said were hurting their client’s ability to receive a fair trial.
Last month, federal prosecutors defended the government’s decision to seek the death penalty and said in a filing that “publicity — even intense — is not novel in this district.”
In Friday’s filing, Mr. Mangione’s lawyers renewed their requests to exclude evidence that they say was improperly seized in a search of Mr. Mangione’s backpack and statements they say he made without having been administered his Miranda warnings.
Benjamin Weiser contributed reporting.
Hurubie Meko is a Times reporter covering criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state courts.
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