Luigi Mangione plea buzz raises potential Paul Manafort problem for prosecutors

Prosecutors with the Southern District of New York and defense attorneys for accused assassin Luigi Mangione asked a U.S. judge Tuesday to set a conference Friday morning — prompting speculation that the 28-year-old could agree to a plea deal in his federal case days before he's set to go to trial on state murder charges.

The timing could have major implications for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's state case.

New York's double-jeopardy protections previously led Big Apple courts to toss charges against former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort after his federal convictions.

After similar reports of a potential plea deal emerged earlier this year, Manhattan prosecutors indicated that they could "advise" the federal judge if any potential plea agreement would put the "just outcome" of his state case in jeopardy.

LUIGI MANGIONE HEARING SET FOR FRIDAY STIRS PLEA DEAL SPECULATION IN HIS FEDERAL CASE "If Luigi Mangione takes a plea federally, then the question is, does this state double jeopardy law get triggered?" said Donna Rotunno, a Chicago-based defense attorney, Fox News contributor and the host of "Crime & Justice." New York has broader double jeopardy laws than the federal government, she said.

A federal resolution first could therefore put the state case at risk in a way that a state conviction would not necessarily jeopardize the federal prosecution.

PROSECUTORS WARN LUIGI MANGIONE SUPPORTERS MAY INTIMIDATE WITNESSES AND JURORS AT MURDER TRIAL "The prosecutors reached out to Judge Carro via letter back in July when they were talking about which case should be set for trial first and the importance of setting the state case for trial before the federal one," Rotunno told Fox News Digital.

"So now here we are in a situation where the state is saying wait, wait, why is the government allowing Luigi Mangione to possibly take a plea on the federal side? Because if that's the case, it could potentially upend our case on the state side." Shortly after Friday's pre-trial conference appeared on the docket, speculation swirled that it could involve a potential plea deal.

However, neither side has commented, and the purpose of the conference remains unclear.

EX-TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN PAUL MANAFORT OPENS UP ABOUT 'SCARY' TIME SPENT IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT While Mangione is currently scheduled to go on trial on the state charges next month and see a federal trial next year, his lawyers could potentially make the double jeopardy argument in New York, if the federal case results in a conviction first.

In the 2019 Manafort case, he was charged at the state level with fraud crimes that were similar to those he had already been convicted of federally.

New York Judge Maxwell Wiley agreed to dismiss the state charges.