A defense attorney representing Kyle Rittenhouse during his murder trial revealed that a film crew working for Fox News’ Tucker Carlson attempted to become embedded in the defense team to make a documentary about his client’s acquittal.
“I did not approve of that,” Richards told CNN on Nov. 19. “I threw them out of the room several times. I don’t think a film crew is appropriate for something like this.”
According to Richards, efforts by the Rittenhouse family to raise money for the teen’s trial included having a Carlson film crew present, which Richards described as a “definite distraction,” but “I’m not always the boss.”
“I had a talk with Kyle. All I can say is what I say. Kyle is going to have some hard choices in his life about the direction he goes and what he stands for. Those will have to be made by Kyle eventually. As [Rittenhouse co-counsel] Corey [Chirafisi] and I told him yesterday as we were waiting along for the verdict, he needs to learn how to take responsibility and to tell people no,” Richards said in the interview.
The documentary “will include additional portions of the [Rittenhouse] interview, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Rittenhouse and his defense team,” according to a Fox news release.
Carlson, on his Nov. 19 show, showed portions of what his film crew had recorded, including Rittenhouse’s first public comments after being acquitted.
Justin Wells, senior executive producer of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” told The Associated Press that no payment was made for access, footage rights, legal fees, or any other purpose to Rittenhouse or his family.
David Hancock, a spokesman for the Rittenhouse family, also told AP that a possible payment by Fox “was never offered and it was never asked for and it was never discussed.”
Meanwhile, Hancock confirmed that Rittenhouse’s first post-trial interview will be with Carlson on Nov. 22.
In another interview after the acquittal, Richards told journalist Ashleigh Banfield that coverage on MSNBC and CNN about the trial was inaccurate and biased.
“It makes me angry that they can’t take the time to at least get the generic, basic facts correct, because it didn’t fit into the story they wanted to tell,” Richards said.
Last week, Rittenhouse was acquitted on all five charges—including one that would have landed him a mandatory life sentence. The jury agreed with Rittenhouse’s argument that he acted in self-defense in the shootings of three men during a night of riots and violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 25, 2020.
Fox News didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
