Defense Witnesses in Palisades Fire Trial Say Probe Was Tainted by Bias, Compromised Scene

Arson and wildland fire experts push back on the government’s case against Jonathan Rinderknecht.

Empty foundations of former residences that burned in the Los Angeles wildfires along the coastline in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on July 5, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

LOS ANGELES—Arson and wildland fire experts in the federal trial accusing a 29-year-old Uber driver of starting a blaze that would lead, days later, to the deadly Palisades Fire, on Monday and Tuesday told a jury that the government’s case was corrupted by bias, shoddy investigative work, and a lack of forensic evidence establishing arson as the cause of the fire.

Testifying for the defense, Edward Nordskog, an arson investigator and retired L.A. County sheriff’s detective, said he reviewed more than 50,000 pieces of evidence in the case and came to the conclusion that none point to arson.