The legal team representing accused killer Luigi Mangione is arguing that the Department of Justice’s decision to seek the death penalty in his case is the result of a conflict of interest on the part of Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In a Friday court filing, Mangione’s lawyers argued that Bondi’s decision was tainted by her prior work as a lobbyist at Ballard Partners, a firm that represented UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare. Mangione is accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
In the filing, his lawyers argue that by involving herself in the case and making public comments suggesting Mangione deserves the death penalty, Bondi broke a vow she made before taking office, where she swore to follow ethical regulations and recuse herself from matters involving Ballard clients for one year.
The filing also argues that Bondi has continued to profit from her work at Ballard and, indirectly, the firm’s work for UnitedHealth Group, through a profit-sharing arrangement and defined contribution plan.
Mangione’s lawyers wrote that Bondi “has a financial stake in the case she is prosecuting,” and that her conflict of interest “should have caused her to recuse herself from making any decisions on this case.”
Bondi announced her decision to direct federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione in April, before Mangione had been formally indicted, in what she described as a bid to “carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”
Two DOJ employees were threatened with contempt of court charges in September for making posts about the case online.
Chad Gilmartin, deputy director in the DOJ’s office of public affairs, reposted comments made by President Donald Trump about Mangione in which he said that Mangione “shot [Thompson] right in the middle of the back—instantly dead‚” adding, “POTUS is absolutely right.” He then highlighted the fact that Bondi had instructed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in Mangione’s case. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s chief of staff then reposted the post, which has since been deleted.
Mangione’s legal team has previously criticized authorities, including Bondi and New York Mayor Eric Adams, for turning the case into a public spectacle and potentially “fatally prejudicing” the case.
“Authorities could not resist feeding into the media firestorm that surrounded the [Brian] Thompson killing, the nationwide manhunt, the NYPD leaks, and the torrent of news stories and social media posts about the predatory behavior of large, wealthy insurance companies. The politicians, prosecutors, agents, and detectives who staged the perp walk knew it would dominate the news cycle for days,” a petition filed in September states.
Mangione, 27, is facing both federal and state murder charges; federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the federal charges, while the state charges carry the possibility of life in prison.
Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024, by a masked assailant. Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania five days later.
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