The attorney representing Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the illegal alien accused of murdering Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, is arguing his client's legal status is simply a narrative rather than a basic fact.
During a back and forth with Fox News anchor Martha McCallum Thursday night, Allan Richards tried to spin his client's illegal status as irrelevant to the case and simply an "opinion" held by those who want to see him found guilty.
"In terms of the question of his immigrant status, ICE and his employer both verified today, because there was some confusion about it, both verified today that they consider him an illegal immigrant from Mexico...it's just a fact. If he was from Colorado and lived there for 20 years, we would know that. But we know that he's an illegal immigrant who is from Mexico and has lived in Iowa for 4-7 years. I fail to see how that's irrelevant or bringing that in is not part of the facts that surround this case. How is it not?" McCallum said.
"That's rhetoric," Richards said, arguing non-U.S. citizens are entitled to equal protection under the law. "That's your rhetoric on it...you want to jump and say they're facts."
Earlier this week Richards falsely claimed his client was in the country legally, lying to the court, the judge and millions who were watching the proceedings live on television. Federal immigration authorities have no legal documentation from Rivera and he used a stolen identity to obtain a job on a local farm in Iowa where he worked for years.
