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As Kyle Rittenhouse awaits trial for killing two people during a Kenosha, Wis., Black Lives Matter protest this summer, his lawyers are in the sights of prosecutors.
Since the high-profile case began, Rittenhouse’s lawyers have attracted almost as much attention as he has. Now 17-year-old senior attorney John Pierce is out of the case after prosecutors argued fundraisers for Rittenhouse could act as a “slush fund” for the beleaguered lawyer. Another prominent lawyer who partnered with Rittenhouse, Lin Wood, also appears to have moved away from the case in order to focus his efforts on undoing President Donald Trump’s election defeat in 2020.
Rittenhouse has been charged with reckless homicide after shooting two people dead and injuring a third during the August protest. He pleaded not guilty and said he acted in self-defense.
Pierce and Wood became champions of Rittenhouse shortly after his arrest. Earlier this year, the pair banded together to launch the “#FightBack” foundation, an organization with a nebulous set of missions, many of which have apparently pleaded right-wing grievances with the media. Part of the foundation’s funds were redirected to Pierce’s own law firm.
The launch of # FightBack came at a special time for Pierce. The law firm he runs has been sued by at least four payday lenders and a legal services firm this year, all alleging unpaid bills, The Daily Beast previously reported. In April, another lender accused the firm of their $ 65 million owing. The debts, plus an unspecified rehab stay for Pierce earlier this year, aligned with a recent exodus of more than 60 lawyers from Pierce’s firm.
Pierce and Wood announced the #FightBack foundation as a way for Rittenhouse fans – of which there are many on the right – to donate money to his defense. But in a court appearance Thursday, prosecutors argued that the flow of money could serve as a “slush fund” to pay off Pierce’s debts.
Pierce had no income and monthly expenses of $ 49,481, prosecutors alleged in a petition. He also had approximately $ 1.2 million in debt and was being sued for allegedly breaching the rental agreement for his $ 1.3 million home.
“This creates a potential conflict of interest for lawyer Pierce,” the motion read, as reported. The Chicago Tribune. “Given his own substantial personal debts, his involvement in an unregulated and opaque ‘slush fund’ provides ample opportunity for personal transactions and fraud. The more donations the Foundation collects, the more it can personally benefit. Instead, the money that should be kept in trust for the defendant can be used to pay off lawyer Pierce’s many creditors.
Pierce denied the allegations in an email to the Daily Beast. “The allegations you are referring to are ridiculous,” he wrote. “All funds are controlled by Kyle’s mother, Wendy. Moreover, I have no affiliation with this foundation. (In fact, Pierce was affiliated with #FightBack until September, when he resigned the day after a Daily Beast report revealing his contributions to his law firm.)
Prosecutors also claimed Pierce broke rules on the conduct of lawyers, accusing him of potentially influencing future jurors by complaining to the district attorney handling the case. On Twitter, Pierce stoked anger at District Attorney Michael Graveley, saying he was “in active (and oddly familiar) communication via text message with the main BLM activist for six weeks before, during and after the riots.”
Pierce and fellow Rittenhouse defense attorney Andrew Calderon on Thursday announced they would withdraw from the case, shortly after prosecutors filed motions to disqualify them.
Pierce told the Daily Beast that the withdrawal “was still the plan.”
“Now that we’ve got Kyle bailed out and built an incredible criminal defense team in Wisconsin,” he said, “I turn my attention to the huge tasks of preparing for Kyle’s defamation and other civil lawsuits, as well as the orchestration of our new fundraiser. efforts to make sure we have the resources to get through the trial. “
These fundraising efforts could be in flux, however, as the #FightBack foundation turns its attention away from Rittenhouse and aims to undo Trump’s loss in 2020.
“For the foreseeable future, #FightBack will focus on exposing fraud in the Nov. 3 election,” Wood tweeted last week. (He is currently involved in long-term lawsuits challenging the election results and has peddled false theories of voter fraud at a press conference this week.) “In the future, anyone who wants to donate for Kyle should contact his criminal defense attorney, John Pierce. “
Neither Wood nor Pierce answered questions on Friday about Pierce’s relationship with fundraising now that he is no longer Rittenhouse’s attorney.
Wood’s tweet also signaled that he was walking away from the Rittenhouse case. “Lin has stepped down from portraying Kyle,” Pierce confirmed to the Daily Beast.
Because Wood, who primarily handles libel cases, was never officially Rittenhouse’s criminal attorney, his exact relationship with Rittenhouse’s legal team is unclear.
“I am not and have never been a criminal lawyer for Kyle. I’m a civil lawyer, ”Wood told The Daily Beast. He added that Pierce was no longer associated with #FightBack, which prosecutors said was a potential Pierce slush fund.
“John Pierce is not affiliated with my foundation,” said Wood. “I understand Mark Richards is Kyle’s Wisconsin criminal attorney.”
Richards, a defense attorney from Racine, Wisconsin, confirmed that neither of the other two attorneys represented Rittenhouse in the homicide case.
“I’m representing Kyle in the ‘pierce & wood atty are not criminal case,’ he wrote to The Daily Beast in an email.“ We are very grateful for all the support from both people, the foundation and the prople who donated. [sic]
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