Alex Jones takes the stand for the second day of his testimony.
As his cross-examination kicked off in his defamation damages trial over his claims Sandy Hook was a “hoax,” Alex Jones faced blistering questioning over some recent conspiracy theories that his company Infowars broadcast about the judge presiding over the case.
Mark Bankston, an attorney for the parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis, rolled tape on the segment, telling the jury that the graphics include an image of “our judge on fire.”
“In fact, Mr. Jones, you’re telling the world not to believe what happens in this courtroom because the judge worked with Child Protective Services, who you say is involved with pedophilia and child trafficking?” the lawyer asked.
After making allegations about the Texas Youth Commission, Jones denied believing the same about Travis County Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, who is presiding over the case.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying,” Jones insisted.
At that point, Bankston rolled tape from Jones’s show on Thursday, in which a voice could be heard making that same allegation. Jones denied directing or producing the segment and suggested that it might be taken out of context.
“Is there anything before and after that that will make it great to show pictures of our judge on fire and tell the world that she’s involved with pedophiles?” he asked. “Tell the context that comes before or after that makes that great.”
The line of questioning had been meant to convey to the jury that Jones is not taking the proceedings seriously — and has scorned the court and even the jury.
“I take this as serious as cancer,” Jones claimed.
After the InfoWars clip was played, Jones asserted that the flames that appear to be consume the judge depict her burning Lady Justice.
In the ongoing trial in Texas, the jury must only decide how much Jones owes Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis. Families of Sandy Hook victims in Texas and Connecticut won a default judgment against him for flouting his discovery obligations.
Though multiple judges found otherwise, Jones has claimed that he provided all the requested information, but Bankston appeared to surprise him with new information — that Jones’s attorneys sent Bankston the entire contents of their client’s phone.
“Do you know what perjury is?” Bankston asked, noting that Jones told a jury earlier that he complied with discovery obligations.
Both in his initial deposition and during trial, Jones asserted that he doesn’t use emails.
“I never send emails myself because I don’t like it,” Jones reiterated on Wednesday. “I can’t stand it. There’s far too many of them. That’s a fact: That I don’t use email.”
At that point, Bankston approached the witness stand and showed him an email that Jones agreed was sent from his account.
“I must have dictated it to my assistant,” Jones asserted.
On direct examination, Jones depicted himself as something of a victim of “distortions” by the “MSM,” short for the mainstream media. He claimed that “at first, I thought the children probably actually died” in the 2012 massacre.
Jones insisted that he got bad information from what he described as his trusted source Wolfgang Halbig, who repeatedly harassed the parents of children who died in the massacre.
“He seemed credible,” Jones said of Halbig, adding that he started believing he was “visibly degenerated” around 2015. Paraphrasing, Bankston said that Jones acknowledged Halbig was “crazy.”
Bankston noted, however, that Jones kept inviting Halbig on the air after that time.
Despite telling jurors on Tuesday that he was “bankrupt” — and sparking a sanctions threat by opposing counsel for that falsehood — Jones agreed that InfoWars was making up to $800,000 a day in 2018. Ending his questioning with a flourish, Bankston said: “I don’t think there’s a point in asking you any more questions, Mr. Jones.”
(Screenshot via Law&Crime Network)