The conspiracy theorist being sued for defamation by families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting will be deposed in two weeks. An affidavit published Tuesday revealed what the plaintiffs want the defense to produce ahead of the deposition.
InfoWars host Alex Jones was sued four years ago, after saying -- among other things -- in response to the shooting that “the whole thing’s fake.”
Families of the Sandy Hook victims believe money motivated Jones to make false claims. Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the families, wants documents related to Jones’ cryptocurrency holdings. “Specifically, Attorney Mattei stated that Alex Jones’s cryptocurrency holdings are evidence of personal financial gain he derived from his unlawful conduct, and, therefore, his motive to engage in reprehensible and outrageous behavior,” according to the affidavit.
The plaintiffs also requested documents related to controversial podcast host Joe Rogan. Rogan hosts “The Joe Rogan Experience” carried on Spotify and is an Ultimate Fighting analyst. The plaintiffs want records of communication between Jones and Rogan prior to three appearances Jones made on Rogan’s podcast.
In one appearance, Rogan asked Jones about the Sandy Hook shootings. Rogan asked Jones if he ever said he believed the shooting didn't happen. Jones said that at first, he did say publicly that the shootings were not real. But now he knows it happened. “Because I learned some of the anomalies were not accurate,” Jones said on the podcast.
Attorneys for the defense have said that communications with Rogan have nothing to do with any aspect of the case. They objected to an initial request for production regarding communications with Rogan because of prior requests of Jones to give up anything he had related to the shooting. So the plaintiffs revised their request
Mattei wants Jones to release more details. “This request requires Alex Jones to search whatever he has in his personal control that has not yet been searched,” according to the affidavit published Tuesday. “Counsel for the Jones defendants agreed to withdraw their objection to this request and to produce any responsive materials subject to that understanding.”
Jones’ deposition is scheduled for March 17 and 18. He’s already lost the defamation case. In November, Judge Barbara Bellis ruled that because of the way that Jones’ legal team handled the discovery process, it could no longer fight claims of defamation.
What’s left to decide is how much Jones will pay in damages.
