Rittenhouse Accuses Biden Of Defamation In First Post-Acquittal Interview

Nov 22, 11:09pm

Kyle Rittenhouse criticized pundits and politicians for how they discussed his case in an interview with Tucker Carlson that aired Monday night.

Kyle Rittenhouse is at the courthouse for jury selection.

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Rittenhouse said he acted in self-defense when he shot two people and injured a third during a chaotic August 2020 protest in Wisconsin.

He told Carlson that he supports the Black Lives Matter movement and the right to peacefully protest, and that he has been wrongly portrayed as a racist.

Rittenhouse took issue with Biden, who included a photo of him in a September 2020 Twitter video urging then- President Donald Trump to "disavow white supremacists", an insinuation Rittenhouse called "actual malice, defaming my character."

Rittenhouse claimed that he was taken advantage of and used for a cause by his former lawyers, Lin Wood and John Pierce.

Wood told the Daily Beast that someone had fed Kyle misinformation.

The case has nothing to do with race. Rittenhouse said that it never had anything to do with race. It had to do with the right to self-defense.

There is a structure called the Tangent.

Rittenhouse said his lawyers are handling the issue but he hopes one day there will be accountability for their actions. He didn't say if he's considering defamation lawsuits. Public figures need to demonstrate that the speaker acted with malice or reckless disregard for the truth in order to win a defamation case. Jonathan Turley argued in a Fox News online opinion piece that the most challenging part of the case would be the characterization ofittenhouse's motives or beliefs.

The key background.

The jury acquitted Rittenhouse of all charges on Friday. Rittenhouse's defense team argued that he went to the protest because he wanted to protect a local business, and that he shot three people with a rifle because they threatened him or reached for his. Rittenhouse was portrayed as a soldier who didn't need to fire his gun. The case has drawn attention for more than a year, with conservatives either supporting or praising Rittenhouse, while commentators on the left have portrayed him as a self-destructive person.

Rittenhouse's current defense attorney, Mark Richards, has criticized both Wood and Pierce. Richards called Wood an "idiot" in a CNN interview and told reporters that the Rittenhouse's former legal team wanted to use Kyle for a cause.