Rittenhouse Lawyer Quits Criminal Case After Prosecutors Imply Fundraising Grift

Fight Censorship, Share This Post!

Rittenhouse Lawyer Quits Criminal Case After Prosecutors Imply Fundraising Grift

Tyler Durden

Fri, 12/04/2020 – 13:00

A criminal defense attorney for 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse has stepped back from the case after prosecutors raised questions over his links to an “unregulated slush fund” for the teen, according to the Chicago Tribune.

On Thursday, hours after prosecutors sought to block Los Angeles civil lawyer John M. Pierce from representing Rittenhouse against a murder charge and other counts stemming from an August 25 shooting incident in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Racine lawyer Mark Richards told the Tribune in an email that “I will be counsel for Kyle in the criminal matters,” while Pierce (and his colleague, Andrew Calderon) “won’t be.

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>

Pierce, who prosecutors say had no income last year, monthly expenses of $49,581, and debt of $1.2 million, was sued in July over allegations that he failed to pay rent on a $1.3 million home in Ventura County, California.

“This creates a potential conflict of interest for attorney Pierce,” states the motion. “Given his own substantial personal debts, his involvement with an unregulated and opaque ‘slush fund’ provides ample opportunity for self-dealing and fraud. The more that the Foundation raises in donations, the more he may personally benefit. Money that should be held in trust for the defendant may instead be used to repay attorney Pierce’s numerous creditors.”

In a motion filed Thursday morning, Kenosha County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger cited public records and news reports as he alleged that Pierce has “significant personal financial difficulties” and argued that he should not be allowed to represent Rittenhouse because “money that should be held in trust for the defendant may instead be used to repay attorney Pierce’s numerous creditors.”

The prosecution’s motion raised questions about the #FightBack Foundation, a group that served as the online fundraising arm for Rittenhouse’s defense. The foundation, which is now focused on challenging the presidential election results, took credit for raising the $2 million needed to free the teen on bail last month.

Prosecutors described it as “an unregulated and unreported slush fund” with close ties to Pierce. He helped start the foundation a few weeks before the Kenosha shootings, but he has told the Tribune he stepped away from its board to avoid any conflicts related to his involvement in the Rittenhouse case. –Chicago Tribune

In Setpember, Pierce claimed he was going to step away from the #FightBack Foundation to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

Hours after the prosecution filed its motion, however, Pierce tweeted “Effective immediately I am taking over all civil matters for Kyle including his future defamation claims. I will also be orchestrating all fundraising for defense costs. The terrific Mark Richards will proceed in Wisconsin.”

Pierce’s partner in the #FightBack foundation is Rittenhouse attorney Lin Wood of Georgia – who tweeted last week that the foundation had “successfully raised $2M cash bail for Kyle Rittenhouse & funded over $300K for his attorney’s fees & expenses. The foundation used approx. $400K of its general funds for Kyle.”

Read the rest of the report here.


Fight Censorship, Share This Post!

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.