The House Jan. 6 committee is set to subpoena InfoWars founder Alex Jones’ phone after his lawyer accidentally turned its contents over to Sandy Hook parents suing him for defamation, Rolling Stone reports.
Mark Bankston, an attorney for some of the Sandy Hook families, revealed that Jones’ lawyer sent him the contents of his phone by accident during cross-examination on Wednesday.
“Twelve days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cellphone with every text message that you’ve sent for the past two years — and when informed, did not take any steps to identify it as privileged or protected,” Bankston said.
“That is how I know you lied to me when you said you didn’t have any text messages about Sandy Hook,” Bankston told Jones. “Did you know this?”
"I guess this is your 'Perry Mason' moment," Jones said while pleading ignorance.
"You know what perjury is, right?" Bankston asked.
Jan. 6 committee seizes:
The Jan. 6 committee is planning to request the data from Jones’ phone from Bankston, according to Rolling Stone.
Jones is closely tied to Oathkeepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who was charged in the Capitol riot, and whipped up support for the insurrection.
The committee previously subpoenaed Jones in November for documents and to participate in a deposition.
Jones attorney tries to backtrack:
Jones’ attorney Andino Reynal filed an emergency motion to protect the contents of Jones phone and asked the plaintiffs to “return” all documents.
Bankston told the court that he notified Reynal that he received the phone contents and that he failed to invoke privilege over the materials.
“I don’t think you have complied with the protection order. I’ll let you do so now if there are documents you’d like to mark as confidential,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Reynal, adding that she would review the documents they mark and make a decision but will not seal the entire phone.
