Summary
A federal judge has delayed approving the sale of Alex Jones’ media company, Infowars, to The Onion, amid disputes over the auction process.
The Onion won with a $1.75 million bid supported by Sandy Hook families, who agreed to forego their share of sale proceeds for future revenue from a revamped Infowars, enabling other creditors to collect more.
However, a competing bidder backed by Jones, First United American Companies, contested the sale, claiming its $3.5 million bid was unfairly rejected.
The judge plans an evidentiary hearing to ensure transparency.
It sounds like the judge is a little too concerned not to cause discomfort to Alex Jones and his Infowars employees. It doesn’t sound promising for The Onion.
That doesn’t sound like he conceded to Jones though, since he rejected his request.
The auction not immediately changing anything is just how it goes, it’s not a concession to Jones. The onion won the auction, but the sale hasn’t completed. The judge letting them keep operating is both decent to the employees, and routine to not damage an asset while the sale is being handled.
Imagine it’s a grocery store rather that a shitty news outlet. You buy it for $1 million, but the judge made the previous owners lock the doors and keep workers from showing up. You now have a damaged asset filled with rotten fruit and melted ice cream that you wouldn’t have paid that much for.
Moreover, the trustee, amongst other powers granted, has a legal expectation to do what is best for whomever he is technically representing. Despite The Onion’s smaller monetary bid, they really did have the higher bid overall.
It’s fair that the judge says you can’t take control over an asset before he’s even ruled on whether you can take control over it. The opposite would be kinda silly.
Right? And the onion didn’t even ask to take control of it because the sale isn’t final.
Jones is just throwing a hissy fit about things that aren’t happening yet, and then when they don’t happen yet using that to publicly declare victory. When things actually do happen he’ll call it foul play by … Someone.
The trustee is on very solid ground. He had practically unilateral authority given to him. Guess we’ll see.
I have lost all faith in the American legal system. I expect Infowars to be broadcasting Jones’s filth well into the 2040s
I will not be surprised if this ends with Jones winning his counter suit against the families and bankrupting them. I have lost all faith in the USA.
Don’t worry; Alex Jones isn’t orange enough for the legal system to ignore.
The point is not (necessarily) to ruin Jones and the people who work for him but to pay the creditors.
In fact the court would have preferred NOT to ruin his company if possible. That was the point of chapter 11. But Jones seems hell bent on his own matrydom.