约翰·皮尔斯是一名加州律师，他在为17岁的凯尔·里顿豪斯辩护和筹款时使用了类似战争的言辞被控杀害两名男子并伤害另一人在克诺沙骚乱的一个晚上，威斯康星州就在几小时前，检方在周四提交的一份法庭文件中指控，皮尔斯报告的财务问题引发了道德担忧和潜在的利益冲突。

皮尔斯说:“为了不让凯尔的支持者感到意外，我将立即接管凯尔的所有民事事务，包括他未来的诽谤诉讼。”在推特上写道周四下午。“我还将组织所有国防费用的筹款活动。了不起的马克·理查兹[当地刑事辩护律师]将在威斯康辛州继续审理。”

基诺沙县检察官托马斯·宾格尔(Thomas Binger)周四上午采取了非常不寻常的步骤，主张反对皮尔斯要求进入刑事案件的请求，这是一项要求州外律师参与的程序性措施，通常不会遭到反对。

但是宾格尔用了六页半的篇幅对皮尔斯进行了毫不留情的批评，引用了皮尔斯的许多公开声明，宾格尔声称这些声明可能“对案件产生重大不利影响”，以及今年早些时候皮尔斯律师事务所“在债务的阴影下”倒闭的报告，以及几起指控皮尔斯拖欠数十万美元商业和个人贷款的诉讼。

Binger在一份法庭文件中写道，皮尔斯的“个人财务困难引起了重大的道德问题”，他认为皮尔斯可以从与“#FightBack Foundation”的密切关系中“个人受益”，这是一个由皮尔斯和全国知名的诽谤律师林·伍德共同创建的德克萨斯州组织。#FightBack一直在为里顿豪斯的辩护筹集资金，直到上个月，皮尔斯公布了由基金会筹集的200万美元保释青少年出狱。

尽管皮尔斯在9月份辞去了基金会董事会的职务，但宾格尔在他的法庭文件中指出，皮尔斯继续敦促他的32500名推特粉丝为里顿豪斯捐款。

“这给皮尔斯律师带来了潜在的利益冲突。宾格尔在法庭文件中称:“考虑到他自己的巨额个人债务，他参与一个不受监管、不透明的‘行贿基金’为自我交易和欺诈提供了充足的机会。”。“本应由被告托管的资金可以用来偿还皮尔斯律师的众多债权人。”

南y . h/Pool通过路透社

凯尔·里顿豪斯在伊利诺伊州沃克根的莱克县被护送到法庭参加引渡听证会。2020年10月30日。

里顿豪斯获释后，伍德在推特上宣布#FightBack将在可预见的未来将重点转移到他所说的“揭露11月3日选举中的欺诈行为”，并指示里顿豪斯的支持者联系皮尔斯，寻求未来的任何捐款。伍德现在参与了多个州的选举相关诉讼。伍德在今年秋天早些时候通过电子邮件告诉美国广播公司新闻，所有为里顿豪斯设计的#FightBack的捐款都将“专门用于他的刑事辩护”。伍德说，剩下的任何东西都会“给凯尔”

由于#FightBack显然不在筹款范围内，皮尔斯星期五早上在保守的新闻频道NewsMax TV上以民事律师的新角色出现。在客户母亲温迪·里顿豪斯的陪同下，皮尔斯利用这段视频宣布了一个新的筹款网站，并发誓要对他声称诽谤里顿豪斯的媒体组织和政治家提起“大量”民事诉讼。在该部分播出时，新的筹款网站仍在建设中。他周五下午在推特上说，该网站将“很快上线”

皮尔斯还继续抨击这起刑事案件是“政治起诉”，并预测里顿豪斯将被无罪释放。“老实说，这可能是英美法律体系自卫历史上最重要的案件，”皮尔斯在公开呼吁捐款时告诉《新闻周刊》。“我们还需要数百万美元来资助这场法律辩护。”

皮尔斯退出刑事案件律师的动议没有提到检察官强烈反对他参与此案。皮尔斯的文件只是说，“代表凯尔·里顿豪斯处理各种法律事务的法律团队已经重组”，皮尔斯将“仅以民事法律顾问的身份”代表里顿豪斯。

皮尔斯在给美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)的一封电子邮件中写道，他“一直在计划”将注意力转向“准备对凯尔的诽谤和其他民事诉讼的大量任务，以及协调我们新的筹资努力，以确保我们有资源通过审判。”

南y . h/Pool通过路透社

凯尔·里顿豪斯在伊利诺伊州沃克根的莱克县的引渡听证会上听取了辩护律师约翰·皮尔斯的陈述

根据马萨诸塞州、德克萨斯州、阿肯色州、加利福尼亚州和纽约州法院的记录，在过去两年里，至少有九起针对皮尔斯律师事务所皮尔斯·班布里奇·贝克·普莱斯(Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price)和赫切特(Hecht)的诉讼。原告包括一家数字营销公司、法律支持供应商、贷款人和一名前法律合作伙伴。

今年5月，皮尔斯在纽约一家法院签署了一份“判决书”，承认他欠一家商业贷款人近400万美元的债务，这笔贷款以他律师事务所的资产为抵押，由皮尔斯亲自担保。尽管皮尔斯仍然是该公司的100%所有者，但他在5月份创建了一个独立的法律实体——皮尔斯·班布里奇(Pierce Bainbridge)，皮尔斯声称该实体“零债务”。

处理里顿豪斯案件的检察官还提请法院注意皮尔斯去年年底在家庭法院提交的与离婚有关的收入和支出申报单。在2019年11月的文件中，皮尔斯宣布没有收入和巨额个人债务，包括105万美元的联邦和州税、9万美元的银行贷款和欠前岳母的2.7万美元债务。

这不是对方律师第一次采取非同寻常的措施，反对皮尔斯认罪。今年6月，在纽约一家法院，一场民事诉讼中被告的律师质疑皮尔斯加入原告法律团队的请求，引用了基诺沙检察官提出的许多相同的财务问题，并指控“根据法院记录，这种做法和模式充其量是有问题的，最坏的情况是不道德的行为”。原告第二天撤回了皮尔斯的申请，没有解决对皮尔斯的指控，并将此举归因于聘请不同律师事务所的决定。

在周四通过视频会议进行的里顿豪斯刑事案件的初步听证会上，里顿豪斯静静地坐在理查兹的律师办公室里，一名司法专员确定有可能进行审判。皮尔斯没有出席听证会，并在当晚晚些时候提出了退出动议。

“凯尔和我们威斯康辛州的律师关系很好。皮尔斯在给美国广播公司新闻的一封电子邮件中写道:“我们将共同努力，确保凯尔无罪释放，他的所有合法权利得到维护。”他没有回答检察官提出的反对他参与刑事案件的指控。

Controversial attorney withdraws from Kyle Rittenhouse criminal case, launches new fundraising appeal

John M. Pierce, a California lawyer who has employed war-like rhetoric in his advocacy and fundraising for Kyle Rittenhouse -- the 17-year-oldaccused of killing two men and wounding anotherduring 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," Piercewrote on TwitterThursday 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 tobail 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."

After Rittenhouse was released, Wood announced on Twitter that #FightBack would shift focus to what he described as "exposing fraud in the November 3 election" for the foreseeable future and directed Rittenhouse's supporters to contact Pierce for any future donations. Wood is now involved in election-related litigation in multiple states. Wood told ABC News by email earlier this fall that all contributions to #FightBack designated for Rittenhouse would be used "exclusively for his criminal defense." Anything left over, Wood said, would be "given to Kyle."

With #FightBack apparently out of the fundraising picture, Pierce appeared Friday morning on the conservative news channel NewsMax TV in his new role as civil lawyer. Accompanied by his client's mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, Pierce used the segment to announce a new fundraising site and vowed to pursue "a lot" of civil cases against media organizations and politicians he claims have defamed Rittenhouse. At the time the segment aired, the new fundraising site was still under construction. He tweeted Friday afternoon the site would be "live shortly."

Pierce also continued his broadsides against the criminal case as a "political prosecution" and predicted that Rittenhouse would be acquitted. "This is probably the most important case, honestly, in the history of self-defense in the Anglo-American legal system," Pierce told NewsMax, while making an overt appeal for contributions. "We're going to need millions of dollars more to fund this legal defense."

Pierce's motion to withdraw as counsel in the criminal case makes no mention of the prosecutor's blistering opposition to his participation in the case. Pierce's filing simply states that "the legal team representing Kyle Rittenhouse in his various legal matters has been restructured" and that Pierce would be representing Rittenhouse "in the capacity of civil legal counsel only."

In an email to ABC News, Pierce wrote it was "always the plan" for him to turn his attention "to the massive tasks of preparing Kyle's defamation and other civil claims as well as orchestrating our new fundraising efforts to ensure we have the resources to get through trial."

Over the past two years, at least nine lawsuits have been filed against Pierce's law firm, Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price and Hecht, according to records from courts in Massachusetts, Texas, Arkansas, California and New York. The plaintiffs include a digital marketing company, legal support vendors, lenders and a former law partner.

In May, Pierce signed a "confession of judgment" in a New York court, acknowledging a debt of nearly $4 million to a merchant lender on a high-interest loan against his law firm's assets and personally guaranteed by Pierce. While Pierce is still the 100% owner of that firm, he created in May a separate legal entity, Pierce Bainbridge, P.C., which Pierce has claimed to have "zero debt."

The prosecutors handling the Rittenhouse case also called the court's attention to an income and expense declaration Pierce submitted in family court late last year in connection with his divorce. In that November 2019 filing, Pierce declared no income and substantial personal debts, including federal and state tax tabs of $1.05 million, a $90,000 bank loan and a $27,000 debt owed to his former mother-in-law.

This is not the first time opposing counsel has taken the extraordinary step of arguing against Pierce's admission to a case. In a New York court in June, attorneys for the defendants in a civil lawsuit contested Pierce's request to join the plaintiffs' legal team, citing many of the same financial issues raised by the Kenosha prosecutor and alleging "a practice and pattern of at best questionable and at worst unethical conduct," according to court records. The plaintiffs withdrew Pierce's application the next day without addressing the allegations about Pierce and attributed the move to a decision to hire a different law firm.

At a preliminary hearing in Rittenhouse's criminal case conducted by video conference on Thursday, Rittenhouse sat silently in Richards's law office as a judicial commissioner determined there was probable cause to proceed to trial. Pierce did not appear at the hearing and filed his motion to withdraw later that evening.

"Kyle is in terrific hands with our Wisconsin lawyers. We will all be working side by side to ensure Kyle is acquitted and all of his legal rights are vindicated," Pierce wrote in an email to ABC News. He did not address the allegations raised by the prosecutors opposing his participation in the criminal case.