Kyle Rittenhouse rips prosecutor: 'Wanted to make a name for himself'

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Kyle Rittenhouse tells Tucker why he lost faith in the justice system

Kyle Rittenhouse calls the prosecutorial misconduct in his case 'ridiculous' in exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson

Kyle Rittenhouse told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that he believed Wisconsin's chief prosecutor in the case, Thomas Binger, was not interested in a fair verdict but instead personal fame or advancement.

Binger, the assistant district attorney in Kenosha County, has had a long career in law, including an unsuccessful run on the Democratic Party line for Racine County, Wisconsin, district attorney in 2016, according to The Sun.

Binger, who argued the case alongside prosecutor James Kraus, was frequently admonished by the judge, Bruce Schroeder, during Rittenhouse's trial. 

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Schroeder, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic Gov. Patrick Lucey in 1983, admonished Binger for "getting brazen" with him at one point - as well as for arguing that Rittenhouse's Miranda-protected post-arrest silence should be further explored.

Rittenhouse told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that there was a "ridiculous" volume of "prosecutorial misconduct" in his case.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger holds Kyle Rittenhouse's gun as he gives the state's closing argument in Kyle Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. ((Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool))

"They knew I was innocent but they still decided to bring these charges to make their name --to have a name. They wanted my head on their shelf," he said.

Addressing Binger's conduct directly, the 18-year-old called the prosecutor a "corrupt person who just wants to make a name for himself and not look at the facts."

"I used to be a fan of the prosecutors, not anymore: I believe there are still good prosecuting attorneys out there. He is the prosecuting attorney that wants to make a name for himself, and he is supposed to speak the truth and nothing but the truth, but he decided he wanted to lie and try to put me in prison for the rest of my life for defending myself."

"This is a case that has nothing to do with politics – but politics were brought into it for people’s own agenda," he added.

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Rittenhouse also criticized the FBI after the operator of an airborne camera drone that captured imagery of the shooting incidents was called to testify.

He credited his own counsel, Mark Richards, for asking the operator for the tail number of the aircraft – in order to be able to file a FOIA request according to Rittenhouse – but Binger and Kraus' team objected to that question based on what he described as the reception of a Touhy Letter from the Wisconsin state attorney.

KENOSHA, WISCONSIN - NOVEMBER 10: Judge Bruce E. Schroeder rebukes Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger during the Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 10, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Schroeder took a motion under advisement, for a mistrial due to prosecutorial misconduct. (Photo by Mark Hertzberg-Pool/Getty Images) (Photo by Mark Hertzberg-Pool/Getty Images)

Because of the Touhy Letter, "we weren’t able to ask him the tail number so we could submit our FOIA requests – which are still being appealed right now so we can get the complete version of that night on the drone video," Rittenhouse told host Tucker Carlson.

"[The federal witness] wouldn’t give us the tail number. We weren’t able to ask him what the tail number is."

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Rittenhouse added that the government claimed another of his attorneys, Natalie Wisco, purportedly received the Touhy information but that the counsel in reality did not.

"It magically disappeared from her email. The state said they emailed it but we never got it," Rittenhouse said.