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December 7, 2020 John M. Pierce, a California lawyer who has employed war-like rhetoric in his advocacy and fundraising for Kyle Rittenhouse the 17-year-old accused of killing two men and wounding another during a night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin filed a motion to withdraw from Rittenhouse's criminal case, just hours after prosecutors alleged in a court filing Thursday that Pierce's reported financial problems raised ethical concerns and a potential conflict of interest.
"So that it does not take Kyle's supporters by surprise, effective immediately I am taking over all civil matters for Kyle including his future defamation claims, Pierce wrote on Twitter Thursday afternoon. I will also be orchestrating all fundraising for defense costs. The terrific Mark Richards [a local criminal defense attorney] will proceed in Wisconsin.
Kenosha County prosecutor Thomas Binger on Thursday morning took the highly unusual step of advocating against Pierce's request for admission to the criminal case, a procedural measure required of out-of-state lawyers that would typically be granted without objection.
But Binger filled six and a half pages with unsparing criticism of Pierce, citing numerous public statements by Pierce that Binger claimed could "materially prejudic[e]" the case, along with reports of the collapse of Pierce's law firm earlier this year "under a cloud of debt," and several lawsuits alleging Pierce defaulted on hundreds of thousands of dollars in business and personal loans.
Pierce's "personal financial difficulties raise significant ethical concerns," Binger wrote in a court filing, contending Pierce could "personally benefit" from his close ties to the "#FightBack Foundation," a Texas organization co-founded by Pierce and nationally known defamation lawyer Lin Wood.
#FightBack had been raising money for Rittenhouse's defense until last month, when Pierce posted $2 million raised by the foundation to bail the teenager out of jail.
Though Pierce stepped down from the foundation board in September, Binger noted in his court filing that Pierce continued to urge his 32,500 Twitter followers to send donations for Rittenhouse .
"This creates a potential conflict of interest for Attorney Pierce. Given his own substantial personal debts, his involvement with an unregulated and opaque 'slush fund' provides ample opportunity for self-dealing and fraud," Binger alleged in the court filing. "Money that should be held in trust for the defendant may instead be used to repay Attorney Pierce's numerous creditors." https://archive.md/wip/8JRS3 * https://abcnews.go.com/US/controversial-attorney-withdraws-kyle-rittenhouse-criminal-case-launches/story?id=74545504