A Manhattan judge singles out two DOJ officials who on Friday and Saturday had retweeted televised remarks by President Trump.
A federal judge has threatened to sanction any Department of Justice official who continues to make prejudicial pretrial statements about Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused in the December shooting murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The firmly worded order out of Manhattan singles out two DOJ officials who on Friday and Saturday had retweeted televised remarks by President Donald Trump.
«He shot someone in the back as clear as you’re looking at me», Trump had said of Mangione in a Fox interview. «He shot him right in the middle of the back — instantly dead. This is a sickness.»
Trump’s remarks, posted on the White House-affiliated X.com account Rapid Response 47, were then reposted by DOJ spokesman Chad Gilmartin and by Brian Nieves, a chief of staff at Main Justice.
«@POTUS is absolutely right», the DOJ spokesman said in a post that Nieves retweeted. Both posts were later deleted.
In her order, US District Court Judge Margaret M. Garnett referenced a federal rule that bars prosecutors, defense lawyers, and their employees from making prejudicial pretrial statements, particularly concerning the guilt or innocence of parties in their cases.
«Multiple employees at the Department of Justice may have violated Local Criminal Rule 23.1», she wrote.
Garnett had specifically referenced the rule during Mangione’s April court appearance. On that date, she directed prosecutors «to ensure that the highest levels of the Department of Justice, up to and including Attorney General Bondi, were aware of and understood they were bound by this Rule», as she noted in Wednesday’s order, referencing AG Pam Bondi.
