U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez has ruled that The Onion’s purchase of Infowars was conducted unfairly after they were named the winner despite not offering the highest bid.
According to sources, the Onion was not the highest bidder at $1.75 million—Jones’s allies at First United American Companies made the highest bid at $3.5 million.
“I don’t think it’s enough money,” Lopez said of The Onion’s bid in a late-night ruling, according to a report from NBC News. “I’m going to not approve the sale.”
The report added:
It was not immediately clear whether there would be a new auction in which The Onion could bid again for Jones’ assets. Lopez said he would leave the decision about what to do next in the hands of the trustee, Christopher Murray, who had overseen the auction.
The judge said Murray had acted in good faith in running the auction in which The Onion’s parent company initially appeared to prevail, but he said the trustee did not run a transparent process and should have given a rival bidder associated with Jones another chance to improve its bid.
“I think you’ve got to go out and try to get every dollar,” Lopez said.
Whoever ultimately wins the auction will own the Infowars studio, website, and social media accounts.
In a filing made public last month, X Corp. objected to transferring Jones’ accounts on the platform.
BREAKING: Elon Musk’s X Corp. Objects To The Sale or Transfer of Any X Accounts Maintained By Alex Jones or InfoWars In Court Filing
Full Filing: https://t.co/ECgGxITmqp
Watch Live: https://t.co/qdOYnVGtyz pic.twitter.com/hTauDn1Jva— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) November 25, 2024
The filing states:
In particular, X Corp. objects to the sale, assignment, or transfer of: (a) the Infowars (https://x.com/infowars); (https://x.com/BANNEDdotVIDEO); (b) (c) The the Banned.Video War Room X X account account (https://x.com/WarRoomShow); (d) the Alex Jones X Account (https://x.com/RealAlexJones) (the “Jones X Account”); and (e) any other accounts maintained by FSS or Jones on X (collectively, the “X Accounts”).
Accounts on X are governed by the X Terms of Service (“TOS”).3 Under both the Prepetition TOS and the Current TOS, all right, title, and interest in and to X Corp.’s services, including X Corp.’s various websites, SMS, APIs, email notifications, applications, buttons, widgets, ads, commerce services, and other covered services (collectively, the “Services”) are X Corp.’s “exclusive property.” See Prepetition TOS § 4; Current TOS § 4. X Corp., as the owner of the Services, grants each user “a personal, worldwide, royalty-free, non-assignable and non exclusive license to use the software provided” to use the Services. See Prepetition TOS § 4 (emphasis added); Current TOS § 4 (same). In contrast to the Services, the account holders own the Content (as defined in the TOS) they submit, post, or display on or through the Services; however, the Content is distinct and separate from the Services.
Pursuant to the Successful Bidder Notice, the Sale Motion, and to the extent applicable, the Jones IP Sale Motion, the Trustee now seeks to contravene X Corp.’s TOS by improperly selling or otherwise transferring the X Accounts (which neither Jones nor his bankruptcy estate own) to a third party. While X Corp. takes no position as to the sale of any Content posted on the X Accounts, X Corp. is the sole owner of the Services being sold as part of the sale of the X Accounts. While X Corp. has granted account holders, such as Jones and FSS, a license to use the Services, such license is non-assignable, both under the terms of the TOS and applicable non-bankruptcy law (i.e., as a personal services contract), and the Trustee cannot sell, assign, or otherwise transfer such license absent X Corp.’s consent.
X Corp. is compelled to file this Objection to make clear that X Corp. does not consent to the sale or any other transfer of the non-assignable X Accounts, which in turn, means the X Accounts cannot be sold or transferred at this time.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the purchase was done with “help” from the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. The victims had agreed to give up some of what was owed to them as a credit to boost The Onion’s bid.
The Infowars founder owes them $1 billion in damages after being sued for defamation over former claims that the massacre was a hoax.
Jones has since apologized for the speculation.
The conservative icon has said he will challenge the purchase in court and launched the Alex Jones Network, which you can follow on X here.
LIVE: The Auction To Sell Infowars And Take Alex Jones Off The Air Is Happening Right Now! Tune In As Alex Jones & Crew Break Down The Latest Developments As We Take America Back! https://t.co/312A238lz9
— Alex Jones Network (@AJNlive) November 13, 2024
The Gateway Pundit will be providing updates about the status of Infowars as the situation unfolds.
