Conspiracy theory purveyor Infowars and most of its assets went on the auction block Wednesday, with Alex Jones waiting to see if he will be allowed to stay or if he will get kicked off its online platforms.
The private auction was being held as part of Jones' personal bankruptcy, which resulted from the nearly $1.5 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments a judge and jurors ordered the bombastic internet show and radio host to pay to families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for repeatedly telling his audience that the Connecticut massacre of 20 children and six adults was a hoax staged by crisis actors. Jones, who has since acknowledged that the shooting did happen, is appealing the defamation verdicts.
The bankruptcy trustee had said sealed bids would be opened at 10:30 a.m. CST so the winning bidder or bidders could be chosen. But Jones appeared to be getting impatient on his show as hours passed without any word on the results.
“I just want to know: Is this our last day here or not?" he said.
He later wrote on the social media platform X that the trustees told him the results will be released Thursday morning.
Both Jones' supporters and detractors expressed interest in submitting bids. They included Roger Stone, an ally of Jones and President-elect Donald Trump, and progressive media groups that have been critical of Jones. He said he could be allowed to stay and keep using Infowars' platforms if allies won the bidding but that he could be kicked out and Infowars shut down if opponents bought it.
Jones, based in Austin, Texas, said he set up a new studio, websites and social media accounts just in case. His personal social media in his name — including his account on X, with more than 3 million followers — were not up for sale. Court proceedings on whether they should be auctioned are pending.
Jones revealed Wednesday that he worked with a group that put in a bid, but did not provide any details.
“The folks I’m working with, who put in (a) substantive bid to try to save Infowars and continue it in the future, have been given no information on the other bidders. That’s all secret," he said in a video posted on X.
Everything from Jones’ studio desk to Infowars’ name, video archive, social media accounts, and product trademarks and inventory were up for sale. Buyers could even purchase an armored truck and video cameras. . Any unsold items will be auctioned off next month.
Many of Jones’ personal assets, including real estate as well as guns and other personal belongings, also are being sold as part of the bankruptcy.
Prospective buyers submitted sealed bids and confidentiality agreements by last Friday. The bankruptcy trustee, attorney Christopher Murray, appointed by the Justice Department, could have held new rounds of bidding Wednesday to boost prices above the sealed bids.
Jones said Murray decided to choose from among the sealed bids. Jones said he was frustrated with that decision and learned about changes to the auction process only on Monday. A judge's order in September gave the trustee wide authority and said new bidding rounds on Wednesday were optional.
Murray also could reject bids, even the highest ones, if he deemed them “contrary to the best interests of the Debtor’s estate, FSS (Infowars parent company Free Speech Systems) and their creditors.”
Families sued Jones and his company for defamation and emotional distress for repeatedly saying on his show that the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax staged by crisis actors to spur more gun control. Parents and children of many of the victims testified that they were traumatized by Jones’ conspiracies and threats by his followers.
FILE - Bill Sherlach, husband of Mary, one of the Sandy Hook School shooting victims, speaks to the media after jurors returned a $965 million dollar judgement in the defamation trial against Alex Jones, in Waterbury, Conn., Oct. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston, File)
This undated photo provided by ThreeSixty Asset Advisors shows the Infowars set. (ThreeSixty Asset Advisors via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson won the House Republican nomination Wednesday to stay on the job, on track to keep the gavel after a morning endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump ahead of a full House vote in the new year.
While Johnson has no serious challenger, he faces dissent within his ranks, particularly from hard-right conservatives and the Freedom Caucus withholding their votes as leverage to extract promises ahead.
Trump told House Republicans, during the president-elect's first trip back to Washington since the party swept the 2024 election, that he's with the speaker all the way, according to a person familiar with the remarks but unauthorized to discuss the private meeting near the Capitol.
Johnson heaped praise on Trump, calling him the “comeback king.”
It’s been a remarkable political journey for Johnson, the accidental speaker who rose as a last, best choice to replace ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy more than a year ago and quickly set a course by positioning himself alongside Trump and leading Republicans during this year's elections.
Johnson said Trump tipped him off early Wednesday that he would be tapping another House Republican for his administration — Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, as attorney general — reducing Johnson's slim numbers in the new year. Gaetz submitted his resignation from Congress, effective immediately, launching an eight-week clock to fill his seat, Johnson said, possibly in time for the start of the new Congress on Jan. 3, 2025.
Gaetz is the third House GOP lawmaker tapped for the Trump administration, and Johnson said Gaetz wanted to help prevent the narrow numbers. The quick departure also ends a long-running House ethics probe into the Florida congressman.
As Johnson tells it, Trump is the “coach” and he is the “quarterback” as they prepare for a unified Republican government in the new year.
Johnson has embraced Trump's priorities on mass deportations, tax cuts, cutting the federal workforce and a more muscular U.S. image abroad. Together they have been working on what the speaker calls an ambitious 100-days agenda hoping to avoid what he called the mistakes of Trump's first term when Congress was unprepared and wasted “precious time.”
Wednesday's internal GOP vote was by voice rather than roll call or ballots, with no objections to Johnson, according to the same person in the room. The rest of the top GOP leaders were also elected.
But the outcome belies a more difficult road ahead for the speaker.
While Johnson expects to lead the House in unified government, with Trump in the White House and Republicans having seized the Senate majority, the House is expected to remain narrowly split, even as House control remains undecided with final races particularly in California still too early to call.
The problems that come with a slim House majority and plagued Johnson's first year as speaker when his own ranks routinely revolted over his plans are likely to spill into the new year, with a potential fresh round of chaotic governing.
Johnson needs just a simple majority in Wednesday's closed-door voting to win the GOP nomination to become speaker. But he will need majority support of the full House, 218 votes, to actually take hold of the gavel on Jan. 3, when the new Congress convenes and conducts the election for its speaker. It took McCarthy some 15 rounds of voting in a weeklong election to win the gavel in 2023.
Trump has made Johnson's problems more complicated by tapping House Republicans for his administration, reducing the numbers further. Just before voting, Trump announced Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general, sending shockwaves through the room over the far-right pick.
“Everybody was saying, Oh my God,” said Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.
Still, with Trump in the White House, the speaker may enjoy a period of goodwill from his own ranks as Republicans are eager to disrupt the norms of governing and institutionalize Trump's second-term agenda.
“His challenge is what it’s always been,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the Freedom Caucus, said of Johnson.
But he said, “With Trump in charge, it’ll be easier for him to deliver.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who launched a failed effort last year to oust Johnson from the speaker's office said: “You know who he’s going to have to answer to? Donald Trump.”
And Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who wore his “Make America Great Again” tie with matching Trump gold sneakers, told reporters the party must put aside the chaos of the last few years and unify behind the president-elect.
“If Donald Trump says, ‘Jump three feet high and scratch your head,’ we all jump three feet high and scratch our head,” Nehls said.
Conservatives have been discussing whether to field their own candidate as a signal to Johnson as they push their own priorities, using the same tactic they did with McCarthy to force the speaker into concessions, particularly on steeper budget cuts.
Instead, they pulled Johnson aside for a lengthy private conversation, as other lawmakers watched and waited. The afternoon dragged on.
“It's nonsense, is what it is,” Simpson said. “Sometimes you can't do everything our exotic members want to do.”
Johnson said afterward a deal was struck between the Freedom Caucus and the more mainstream conservative Main Street Caucus on new GOP conference rules.
One change would make it harder to remove the speaker from office, requiring at least nine lawmakers to join in filing a so-called “motion to vacate” instead of just one. In return other proposals were dropped.
Democrats, who lent Johnson a hand at governing multiple times in Congress — supplying the votes needed to keep the federal government funded and turning back the effort by Greene to bounce him from office — are unlikely to help him in the new year as they try to put a check on Trump's agenda.
“House Democrats are ready to work with the new administration and will extend a hand of bipartisanship whenever possible,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the chairman of the Democratic Caucus.
But he said Democrats "will be ready to push against efforts” to throw millions of Americans off health care and other GOP priorities.
It’s wasn't just the speaker election Wednesday, but Republicans also reelected the rest of their top House GOP leadership team for the new year.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also of Louisiana, and GOP Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, sailed to their reelections in leadership, as did Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., who will lead the campaign arm the National Republican Congressional Committee for another term.
The House GOP conference chair went to Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan. It was the most competitive race for the job that opened up after Trump’s decision to tap Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as his ambassador to the United Nations.
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President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., as he arrives to speak at a meeting with the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., speaks before President-elect Donald Trump arrives at a meeting of the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
