Donald Trump’s Justice Department is under fire by a federal judge after uncovering “multiple employees … may have violated” local rules guaranteeing a right to a fair trial for so-called “healthcare shooter” Luigi Mangione.
U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett wrote on Wednesday that Mangione documented several incidents in which members of the Southern District of New York made public statements that are in violation of Criminal Rule 23.1.
The judge shredded the DOJ, saying that she issued an order on “April 25, 2025, specifically identifying the strictures of this rule for counsel and directing the prosecution team 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.”
Even more fun, if they rush the federal case forward instead of letting the state go first, he would be shielded prosecution at the state level the second jeopardy attaches (New York state law disallows prosecution of crimes which have already been tried in another jurisdiction). If the feds then botch the case, they would have ruined both chances to prosecute.
Given the level of competence we’ve seen so far, this seems like a very plausible scenario.
The problem is it’s Trumps DOJ. If he gets tried to the federal level, then no matter how much they botch the case Luigi is likely to end up like Epstein or deported to another country dead.