Auctioneer defends The Onion's bid for Infowars as Alex Jones tries stopping sale
The Onion's bid to buy conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars returned to a Texas courtroom
An auction company executive involved in the liquidation of Alex Jones’ conspiracy theory platform Infowars testified for nearly five hours Monday, as a bankruptcy judge in Texas began a hearing into whether The Onion satirical news outlet was properly named the winning bidder over a company affiliated with Jones.
Jeff Tanenbaum, president of ThreeSixty Asset Advisors, was grilled by lawyers for Jones and the company in a Houston courtroom over how The Onion’s bid came to be valued at $7 million and why a live auction was not held. He defended both the value of the bid and its selection after the two sealed offers were opened.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez continued the hearing to Tuesday afternoon, when the trustee overseeing the sale of Jones’ assets is expected to take the stand. Lopez could ultimately decide whether to void The Onion’s bid, name the Jones-affiliated company the winner or hold another auction, among other possibilities.
Jones and First United American Companies, which runs a website in Jones’ name that sells nutritional supplements and submitted the other bid, are alleging fraud and collusion in the auction that concluded on Nov. 14. The trustee and The Onion deny the allegations, accusing Jones and the company of sour grapes.
