Sandy Hook family attorney says he was sent Alex Jones' cell phone data
When Jones took the stand on Wednesday to testify before the jury, Bankston asked him about text messages he was asked to turn over during discovery before this trial.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The plaintiff's attorneys in Alex Jones' defamation case said they "inadvertently" received text messages and data from the Infowars host's cell phone, sent by his defense team.
Mark Bankston represents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who lost their son Jesse in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. The parents are suing over claims by Jones and others at Infowars that the shooting was a hoax.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble has already found Jones liable for defamation and inflicting mental anguish in the case in a default judgment last year. At the time, she cited his team's refusal to follow court orders or turn over evidence. A jury has been tasked with deciding how much the host should be ordered to pay the family in damages.
When Jones took the stand on Wednesday to testify before the jury, Bankston asked him about text messages he was asked to turn over during discovery before this trial. According to Bankston, certain texts and emails were not provided by Jones' defense.
Jones said he had never seen the text exchange that was shown on the screen and that he assumed the attorneys got it from the other person's phone.
"Did you know that 12 days ago, 12 days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cell phone, with every text message you've sent from the last two years?" Bankston said, explaining that the defense did not take any steps to respond or clarify that the information was privileged.
He said, "That is how I know you lied to me when you said you didn't have text messages about Sandy Hook."
Bankston then pressed Jones about the financial information and profits made by Infowars before holding up a one-dollar bill. He then asked Jones if he was aware his attorneys argue that "this" was all he should owe the families in this case.
"Do you agree with that?" he asked before slamming the bill down on the table and saying, "I'll pay it for you. Are we done?"
Earlier on Wednesday, Jones insisted that he believed the theories of a man named Dr. Steve Pieczenik about Sandy Hook because he was a trusted source of his in the past.
"He gave us a lot of info over the years that turned out to be dead on," Jones explained before saying Pieczenik turned out to be "wrong" this time.
Jones went on to admit that calling the shooting fake was "absolutely irresponsible" and that he now believes it was a real event. He said he would like to work with Lewis and the non-profit she started called the Choose Love Movement.
"They won’t let me take it back," he told the jury, referring to the lawyers and what he calls the "mainstream media."
The family's attorney pressed Jones on whether he was taking the trial seriously before showing a clip from Infowars where a guest claimed the proceedings were "scripted" and another clip where Jones implied the jurors "don't know what planet they are on."
The attorney, Mark Bankston, also put up a photo reportedly shown on Infowars, depicting Judge Gamble and another judge, with flames over their faces, next to a statue of Lady Justice. Jones insisted the photo showed "justice on fire," not the judges.
When he first took the stand Tuesday, Jones mentioned a recent bankruptcy filing by the parent company of Infowars in his testimony Tuesday. That comment earned a stern warning from the judge to "tell the truth" on the witness stand.
"This is not your show," Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Jones at the time.