“Fullest” has a specific meaning in federal prosecutions of murders. Right?
Earlier this morning, Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the press about the horrific assassinations of two young Israeli embassy workers overnight. Bondi personally reviewed the crime scene, and says the federal government will assert jurisdiction in the prosecution of Elias Rodriguez. Bondi promised to push the law to its limit in making sure Rodriguez pays for his crimes, and that likely means a date with a needle at some point:
Before we get to “fullest extent of the law,” let’s note that this may or may not be the only part of the case Bondi and acting US Attorney Jeanne Pirro will pursue. “You have to worry about other embassies, other sites,” Brian Kilmeade says. That’s an interesting point, given that someone apparently attempted to breach security at CIA headquarters early this morning, too. It’s not yet known what prompted the attempted, but the alleged perp got shot for her efforts, and is now in custody:
A security incident outside CIA headquarters early Thursday led to a shooting, authorities said.
Officers with the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia responded to what they described as a “nonfatal” shooting at the agency’s headquarters in McLean around 4 a.m. to assist CIA police with traffic control.
As USA Today notes, it’s not the first time this year that the CIA has had to deal with a potential assailant:
Authorities shot and wounded a female driver as she approached the gate in her vehicle at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency early May 22, wounding her after she failed to stop.
The spy agency was not offering details of the incident except to say that the woman was taken to a nearby hospital. …
In March, a man was taken into custody at the spy agency headquarters in the Virginia suburbs of Washington after armed police responded to a “barricade incident” there.
There haven’t been many updates on the March incident. Thus far, we don’t know what the woman’s motivation was this morning in Langley either. These may not be related at all, but … this one bears watching, even if the CIA is remaining typically reticent about it for now.
Back to these two assassinations in DC, however. After pledging to prosecute Rodriguez to the “fullest extent,” Bondi trod a bit more carefully in a Fox News interview afterward. When asked about the death penalty, Bondi said her office would take a close look at the question, and noted that the Department of Justice has already revived such demands under her direction:
Bondi: “I signed a death warrant yesterday on a case. So we are seeking the death penalty again. That was Donald Trump’s directive from day one.” pic.twitter.com/nf7D1W4vCk
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 22, 2025
I was a career capital prosecutor, what I can say in any case now – I’m not just commenting on it – it is with my office. You weigh the facts, you look at the law, and I signed a death warrant yesterday on a case. So we are seeking the death penalty again, that was Donald Trump’s directive from day one.
We’ll look at this case very closely and that will be decided down the road in accordance with the law. Let me assure you, justice will be served in this case.
Bondi has already approved a death-penalty prosecution against Luigi Mangione, in a case with similarities to this one. Mangione snuck up on his unarmed prey and shot him in the back several times and then ran off like a coward. He also apparently committed murder for political purposes, although he was not stupid enough to stick around the murder scene and shout terroristic slogans while being arrested.
Rodriguez, on the other hand, may have made Bondi’s case for execution much easier:
Washington, D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith made the revelations while updating the media about the murder. She provided the name of the suspect, Elias Rodriquez, and chronicled the events leading up to the shooting, saying he targeted four people with his gun, according to reports.
“Prior to the shooting, a suspect was observed pacing outside of the museum,” Smith said.
“The suspect chanted, ‘Free, free Palestine,’ while in custody. The suspect has been identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriquez of Chicago, Illinois,” Smith added.
Mangione has been charged with murder under the federal statutes in 18 USC 924, which applies in large part because of stalking charges and other elements of Mangione’s crimes. Under subsection (j), that allows the death penalty for murder. The DoJ did not additionally indict Mangione under 18 USC 113B, the federal statute dealing with terrorism, presumably because it was unnecessary to prove a terror intent in Mangione’s case. Bondi and Pirro may decide to take the same course with Rodriguez, but his shouts at the time of his arrest certainly make a terrorism case easier to win, and “domestic terrorism” also carries the possibility of capital punishment for murder.
It certainly helps prosecutors to make that case when defendants provide “excited utterances” at the time of their arrest, especially when promoting a political message through those utterances. At the very least, it provides plenty of evidence of motive, which is also helpful when fending off mental-health defenses later. It’s why attorneys tell their clients to shut the hell up, and reminds us of the limits of the Miranda warning in protecting defendants who don’t take that advice.
It also reminds us that the Protection Racket Media seems incapable of assessing reality. Hence, I give you the New York Times take on the story, where the motive hides in plain sight, it seems (via David Bernstein at Instapundit):
At any rate, it is a safe bet that Bondi will pursue a death penalty here in one fashion or another. The Trump administration wants to put an end to the “globalized intifada” in the US, about which I will write more later this afternoon.
