\n Bondi was a partner at Ballard Partners before leading the Justice Department\u2019s charge to turn Mangione\u2019s<\/a> federal prosecution into a capital case, creating a \u201cprofound conflict of interest\u201d that violated his due process rights, his lawyers wrote in a court filing late Friday. They want prosecutors barred from seeking the death penalty and some charges thrown out. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9.\n <\/p>\n \n By involving herself in the death penalty decision and making public statements<\/a> suggesting that Mangione deserves execution, Bondi broke a vow she made before taking office in February that she would follow ethical regulations and bow out of matters pertaining to Ballard clients for a year, Mangione\u2019s lawyers said.\n <\/p>\n \n They argued Bondi has continued to profit from her work for Ballard \u2014 and, indirectly, from its work for UnitedHealth Group \u2014 through a profit-sharing arrangement with the lobbying firm and a defined contribution plan it administers.\n <\/p>\n \n The \u201cvery person\u201d empowered to seek Mangione\u2019s death \u201chas a financial stake in the case she is prosecuting,\u201d his lawyers wrote. Her conflict of interest \u201cshould have caused her to recuse herself from making any decisions on this case,\u201d they added.\n <\/p>\n \n Messages seeking comment were left for the Justice Department and Ballard Partners.\n <\/p>\n \n Bondi announced in April that she was directing Manhattan federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty, declaring even before Mangione was formally indicted that capital punishment was warranted for a \u201cpremeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Thompson, 50, was killed Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group\u2019s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say \u201cdelay,\u201d \u201cdeny\u201d and \u201cdepose\u201d were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.\n <\/p>\n \n Mangione, 27, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later<\/a> at a McDonald\u2019s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan. He has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges. The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison. Neither trial has been scheduled.\n <\/p>\n![\"Luigi](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/gettyimages-2251888719.jpg\")
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