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luigi mangioneAttorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to seek the death penalty against the UnitedHealthcare CEO in the murder case has been disputed by his lawyers. brian thompson Was tainted by conflict of interest.
His lawyers point to his former work as a lobbyist at a firm that represented the insurer’s parent company in a new court filing.
Bondi was a partner at Ballard Partners before leading Justice DepartmentThe charge of turning Mangione’s federal prosecution into a capital case, his lawyers wrote, created a “profound conflict of interest” that violated his due process rights.
They want prosecutors to be prevented from seeking the death penalty and some charges to be dismissed. The hearing is to be held on January 9.
Mangione’s lawyers said that by involving herself in the death penalty decision and making public statements suggesting that Mangione should be executed, Bondi broke a pledge she made before taking office in February that she would follow ethics rules and step away from cases involving Ballard’s clients for a year.
They argued that Bondy has continued to profit from his work for Ballard – and, indirectly, from his work for UnitedHealth Group – through a profit-sharing arrangement with the lobbying firm and a defined contribution plan administered by it.
The person “who has the right to seek Mangione’s death,” her lawyers wrote, “has a financial stake in the case she is prosecuting.” “Due to his conflict of interest he should have recused himself from taking any decision on this matter,” he said.
Messages seeking comment were left for the Justice Department and Ballard Partners.
Bondi announced in April that she was directing Manhattan Federal prosecutors sought the death penalty, declaring before Mangione was formally convicted that the death penalty was necessary for a “premeditated, cold-blooded murder that shocked” America,
Thompson, 50, was killed on December 4, 2024, as he headed to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video shows a masked gunman shooting him in the back. Police The ammunition was marked with “Delay,” “Reject” and “Depose,” mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
Mangione, 27, the Ivy League– educated descendant of a rich maryland The family was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, pennsylvaniaAbout 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan. He has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges. The state charges include the possibility of life in prison. No tests have been scheduled.
Friday’s filing put the spotlight back on Mangione’s federal case, a day after it ended a marathon pretrial hearing in which he fought to prevent prosecutors in his state case from using some evidence found during his arrest, such as a gun that police said matched the gun used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which he allegedly described his intention to “destroy” a health insurance executive. The decision is not expected until May.
Mangione’s defense team, led by the husband-and-wife duo of Karen Friedman-Agnifilo and Mark Agnifilo, focused on Bondy’s past lobbying work as they tried to convince U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett to impose the death penalty, dismiss some charges and exclude the same evidence they wanted to suppress from the state’s case.
In a September court filing, Mangione’s lawyers argued that Bondi’s announcement that she was ordering prosecutors to seek the death penalty—which she followed— Instagram The post and TV appearance revealed that the decision was “based on politics, not merit.” He also said that his comments tainted the grand jury process that resulted in his indictment a few weeks later.
Bondi’s statements and other official actions – including a highly choreographed perp walk that saw Mangione escorted by armed officers to a Manhattan pier, and trump The administration’s violations of established death penalty procedures — “violated Mr. Mangione’s constitutional and statutory rights and fatally prejudiced this death penalty case,” his lawyers said.
In a court filing last month, federal prosecutors argued that “pretrial publicity, even if intense, is not in itself a constitutional flaw.”
Prosecutors argued that rather than dismissing the case outright or preventing the government from seeking the death penalty, the defense’s concerns could be mitigated by carefully questioning potential jurors about their knowledge of the case and ensuring that Mangione’s rights were respected at trial.
Prosecutors said, “What the defendant presents as a constitutional threat is merely a repetition of arguments” that had been rejected in previous cases. “Nothing warrants dismissing the indictment or explicitly excluding any punishment authorized by Congress.”
Mangione’s lawyers said they wanted to investigate Bondi’s ties to Ballard and the firm’s relationship with UnitedHealthcare and would seek various materials, including details of Bondi’s compensation from the firm, any instructions given to Justice Department staff regarding the case or UnitedHealthcare, and sworn testimony from “all persons with personal knowledge of the relevant matters.”