Mangione accuses federal prosecutors of bias in Thompson murder case

Luigi Mangione’s lawyers are pressing federal judges to rein in prosecutors after a new dispute over plea talks, saying the government has crossed into improper publicity that threatens his right to a fair trial and an impartial jury. The defense called the disclosure of the discussions “troubling” and said it fit a “deliberate pattern” of efforts to prejudice Mangione as he faces one state murder case and one federal interstate stalking case tied to the killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.

The challenge lands in a case already split between two court systems. Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both the New York state case and the federal case. His state trial is scheduled to begin in September 2026, with the federal trial set for November 2026, extending the legal fight over the December 2024 shooting outside a healthcare industry conference in Midtown Manhattan and the multiday search that ended with his arrest at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.

The federal case is narrower than it once was. A federal judge dismissed the death-penalty-eligible counts in January 2026, removing the government’s ability to seek capital punishment, but two federal charges tied to Thompson’s death remain in place. New York law may bar a later state case based on the same conduct if a federal plea deal is reached.

The latest clash adds to earlier defense attacks on both sets of prosecutors. In the Manhattan case, Mangione’s lawyers accused the district attorney’s office of improperly obtaining his medical records from Aetna and reviewing confidential material protected by HIPAA and doctor-patient privilege. Prosecutors asked for only limited information, Aetna sent extra records by mistake, and they deleted the material when they discovered it.

Mangione’s defense has also fought over pretrial publicity in the federal case. In October 2025, Judge Margaret M. Garnett said Department of Justice employees likely violated court rules by reposting comments from President Donald Trump about the case and asked the department to explain what happened and how it would prevent another breach. The defense briefly raised, then withdrew, a psychiatric defense in June 2026, avoiding a required disclosure of psychiatric-history records and keeping related strategy sealed. Donors have given about $1.5 million toward Mangione’s defense.