Judge Blocks Onion’s Bid to Acquire Infowars Assets, Saying ‘I Don’t Think It’s Enough Money’
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor A bankruptcy judge in Texas rejected the bid of satire site the Onion to acquire the assets of Infowars — the bankrupt outlet of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — saying the auction process lacked clarity and that the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims deserved more money than the Onion’s parent had bid.
Judge Christopher Lopez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on Tuesday evening said the Onion’s winning bid — of $1.75 million in cash — “left a lot of money on the table” for Connecticut families who had won a $1.4 billion judgment in a defamation lawsuit against Jones, the AP reported. “You got to scratch and claw and get everything you can for them,” the judge said. “I don’t think it’s enough money,” Lopez said in ruling on the matter Tuesday, as reported by NBC News.
Lopez, in announcing his ruling, said he did not want another auction for Infowars and left it up to the trustee who oversaw the auction to determine the next steps, per the AP.
The trustee who oversaw the auction, Christopher Murray, had defended the Onion’s bid as superior to that of the only other bidder, First United American Companies, which operates the ShopAlexJones.com website.
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