Luigi Mangione's Lawyers Slam Pam Bondi, Claim Her Remarks 'Damaged' Potential Jury Pool

In a Manhattan federal court filing obtained by RadarOnline.com, the defense team for Luigi Mangione — the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — launched a furious attack against former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing her of tainting the prospective jury pool.

They accused the former AG of violating rules on prejudicial pretrial publicity, adding, "Getting to the bottom of the damage she has caused is critical" to selecting a fair jury.

Federal prosecutors, led by Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley, previously argued that several of the defense's proposed jury questions — such as inquiries into potential jurors' religious practices and detailed personal lives — were "unnecessarily intrusive.”

Mangione's defense team (Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo, and Jacob Kaplan) is arguing with federal prosecutors over the scope of jury questionnaires.

In Tuesday's counter-filing, Mangione's lawyers pushed back against the government's criticism. They argued that aggressive questioning is entirely justified to undo the public damage and prejudice caused by Bondi's highly publicized remarks about the case before her tenure ended.

They requested broader questions — covering living situations, religion, employment history and crime-related television habits — to help weed out potential juror bias.

The defense specifically pointed to public remarks made by Bondi. They argue that her past statements and public death penalty announcement have fatally prejudiced the jury pool and violated Mangione's constitutional rights.

Bondi directed the Justice Department to seek capital punishment for Mangione, citing that the murder was a "premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”

She noted that because the murder occurred in public with bystanders nearby, Mangione posed a "grave risk of death to additional persons," and framed the death penalty as a vehicle to "stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again."

Mangione's lawyers filed to have capital punishment stricken, arguing that Bondi's prior work as a lobbyist for a firm that represented UnitedHealth Group taints the prosecution.

The defense's filing claims that Bondi's rhetoric broke local court rules regarding extrajudicial statements. They are using the motion to try to force prosecutors to address the damage done to prospective jurors.

This latest dispute adds to an ongoing battle where the defense has repeatedly sought to dismiss charges or take the death penalty off the table, citing Bondi's previous lobbying work for the parent company of UnitedHealthcare.

While this fight over the federal jury pool unfolds in Manhattan federal court, Mangione's concurrent New York state murder case recently saw a major evidentiary ruling.

State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled that the most crucial pieces of physical evidence — a 3D-printed 9mm handgun, a silencer and a red notebook containing diary entries outlining the plot — are admissible at trial.

The defense scored a partial victory when the judge suppressed other items found during the initial warrantless backpack search at a Pennsylvania McDonald's, including a loaded gun magazine, passport, cellphone and wallet.

Mangione's New York state murder trial is scheduled to begin September 8, while his federal stalking trial jury selection is slated for October 13. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.