diff --git a/pkg/cmd/attestation/verification/sigstore.go b/pkg/cmd/attestation/verification/sigstore.go
index 95dc2fb9c..e76d55a6b 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/attestation/verification/sigstore.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/attestation/verification/sigstore.go
@@ -63,27 +63,39 @@ func NewLiveSigstoreVerifier(config SigstoreConfig) (*LiveSigstoreVerifier, erro
 		Logger:       config.Logger,
 		NoPublicGood: config.NoPublicGood,
 	}
-	// if a custom trusted root is set, configure custom verifiers
+	// if a custom trusted root is set, configure custom verifiers and assume no Public Good or GitHub verifiers
+	// are needed
 	if config.TrustedRoot != "" {
 		customVerifiers, err := createCustomVerifiers(config.TrustedRoot, config.NoPublicGood)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error creating custom verifiers: %s", err)
 		}
 		liveVerifier.Custom = customVerifiers
 		return liveVerifier, nil
 	}
+
+	// No custom trusted root is set, so configure Public Good and GitHub verifiers
 	if !config.NoPublicGood {
 		publicGoodVerifier, err := newPublicGoodVerifier(config.TUFMetadataDir, config.HttpClient)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
+			// Log warning but continue - PGI unavailability should not block GitHub attestation verification
+			config.Logger.VerbosePrintf("Warning: failed to initialize Sigstore Public Good verifier: %v\n", err)
+			config.Logger.VerbosePrintf("Continuing without Public Good Instance verification\n")
+		} else {
+			liveVerifier.PublicGood = publicGoodVerifier
 		}
-		liveVerifier.PublicGood = publicGoodVerifier
 	}
+
 	github, err := newGitHubVerifier(config.TrustDomain, config.TUFMetadataDir, config.HttpClient)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+		config.Logger.VerbosePrintf("Warning: failed to initialize GitHub verifier: %v\n", err)
+	} else {
+		liveVerifier.GitHub = github
+	}
+
+	if liveVerifier.noVerifierSet() {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no valid Sigstore verifiers could be initialized")
 	}
-	liveVerifier.GitHub = github
 
 	return liveVerifier, nil
 }
@@ -206,6 +218,9 @@ func (v *LiveSigstoreVerifier) chooseVerifier(issuer string) (*verify.Verifier,
 		if v.NoPublicGood {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("detected public good instance but requested verification without public good instance")
 		}
+		if v.PublicGood == nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("public good verifier is not available (initialization may have failed)")
+		}
 		return v.PublicGood, nil
 	case GitHubIssuerOrg:
 		return v.GitHub, nil
@@ -372,3 +387,7 @@ func newPublicGoodVerifierWithTrustedRoot(trustedRoot *root.TrustedRoot) (*verif
 
 	return sv, nil
 }
+
+func (v *LiveSigstoreVerifier) noVerifierSet() bool {
+	return v.PublicGood == nil && v.GitHub == nil && len(v.Custom) == 0
+}
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/attestation/verification/sigstore_test.go b/pkg/cmd/attestation/verification/sigstore_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1f7c925ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/cmd/attestation/verification/sigstore_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+package verification
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/pkg/cmd/attestation/io"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// Note: Tests that require network access and TUF client initialization
+// are in sigstore_integration_test.go with the //go:build integration tag.
+// These unit tests focus on testing the logic without requiring network access.
+
+// TestChooseVerifierWithNilPublicGood tests that chooseVerifier returns an error
+// when a PGI attestation is encountered but the PGI verifier is nil (failed initialization).
+func TestChooseVerifierWithNilPublicGood(t *testing.T) {
+	verifier := &LiveSigstoreVerifier{
+		Logger:       io.NewTestHandler(),
+		NoPublicGood: false,
+		PublicGood:   nil, // Simulate failed PGI initialization
+		GitHub:       nil, // Not needed for this test
+	}
+
+	_, err := verifier.chooseVerifier(PublicGoodIssuerOrg)
+
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.ErrorContains(t, err, "public good verifier is not available")
+}
+
+// TestChooseVerifierUnrecognizedIssuer tests that an error is returned
+// for unrecognized issuers.
+func TestChooseVerifierUnrecognizedIssuer(t *testing.T) {
+	verifier := &LiveSigstoreVerifier{
+		Logger:       io.NewTestHandler(),
+		NoPublicGood: false,
+	}
+
+	_, err := verifier.chooseVerifier("unknown-issuer")
+
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.ErrorContains(t, err, "leaf certificate issuer is not recognized")
+}
+
+func TestLiveSigstoreVerifier_noVerifierSet(t *testing.T) {
+	verifier := &LiveSigstoreVerifier{
+		Logger:       io.NewTestHandler(),
+		NoPublicGood: true,
+		PublicGood:   nil,
+		GitHub:       nil,
+	}
+
+	require.True(t, verifier.noVerifierSet())
+}