The list of ridiculous things Alex Jones has said over the years is painfully long, but among the most disgusting was his on-air claims that the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary was a “false flag” operation and the families of the massacre’s victims were “crisis actors.”
The result was civil litigation against the professional conspiracy theorist, parts of which are currently underway. In fact, yesterday proved to be an especially interesting day in the proceedings: Mark Bankston, a lawyer representing two parents, told Jones that his own attorney accidentally sent over the entire contents of the Infowars founder’s phone, including texts and emails.
As it relates to the ongoing civil case, this doesn’t appear to have done Jones any favors. In fact, while the host was on the witness stand yesterday, Bankston literally asked Jones, “Do you know what perjury is?”
But it wasn’t long before a related question came to the fore: Aren’t there a whole lot of other folks who might also be interested in reviewing the contents of the host’s phone?
Rolling Stone reported late yesterday that the Jan. 6 committee was poised to request the accidentally disclosed materials. As the Associated Press reported, that is precisely what happened.
An attorney representing two parents who sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones over his false claims about the Sandy Hook massacre said Thursday that the House Jan. 6 committee has requested two years’ worth of records from Jones’ phone. Attorney Mark Bankston said in court that the committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol has requested the digital records.
In case this isn’t obvious, Jones’ perspective on matters related to the attack on the Capitol is highly relevant. Among other things, the host reportedly joined Roger Stone for an infamous Jan. 5 gathering at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel near the White House, for example.
With this in mind, it was not surprising when the House select committee subpoenaed the Infowars host in November. A couple of months later, Jones told his audience that he’d spoken to the bipartisan panel — and asserted his Fifth Amendment rights “almost 100 times.”
With this in mind, it shouldn’t be too surprising that investigators would have an interest in the contents of the conspiracy theorist’s phone, especially now that his lawyer accidentally shared the information. As for whether the Sandy Hook lawyer will provide the House committee with the requested materials, Jones’ lawyer isn’t keen on the idea, but the judge in the ongoing civil case suggested earlier today that the transfer will, in fact, happen. It’s worth emphasizing that I have no idea whether any of these texts or emails are of political significance. The host’s lawyer claimed that the data in question ranges from August 2019 to March 2020, which is a lot less interesting than, say, the first week of January 2021. But it’s possible the data covers a wider range, just as it’s possible that there are politically relevant revelations therein. Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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