A Department of Justice attorney who has displayed an unwavering loyalty to President Donald Trump indicated he is investigating “potential abuses of government authority” related to an FBI agent who was part of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting defamation lawsuit against InfoWars founder Alex Jones.
Ed Martin, the DOJ Pardon Attorney who is also tasked with investigating the weaponization of the federal government, sent a letter to a lawyer representing retired Special Agent William Aldenberg on September 15, requesting information about his role in the $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit against Jones.
“As you may know, there are criminal laws protecting the citizens from actions by government employees who may be acting for personal benefit,” Martin wrote. “I encourage you to review those.”
Among the information, Martin asked if Aldenberg received financial benefits from helping organize the defamation lawsuit in which he was a plaintiff alongside the family of victims.
Aldenberg was among the law enforcement officers who responded to emergency calls from Sandy Hook Elementary School the day of the shooting and witnessed the dead children. Six educators and 20 children were killed in the mass shooting.
However, as a result of Jones spreading false conspiratorial claims that the shooting was a hoax on InfoWars, Aldenberg and the families of the victims were subjected to public harassment and abuse.
Aldenberg and 14 other plaintiffs filed a defamation lawsuit against Jones. Aldenberg was the first witness in the blockbuster trial and tearfully testified about witnessing the horrific scene and how Jones’ lies that he was a “crisis actor” led to harassing phone calls and emails.
Ultimately, the plaintiffs were awarded $1.4 billion in damages. Of that, Aldenberg was awarded approximately $90 million.
In his letter to Aldenberg’s attorney, Martin also asked whether Aldenberg made it clear his testimony was “in his personal capacity” and if Aldenberg had recused himself “from matters in his work to protect himself and others from conflict.”
Another question asked whether Aldenberg had any correspondence with Berlin Rosen, a public relations firm.
Christopher Mattei, the attorney who represents Aldenberg and the victims’ families, called the DOJ’s inquiry “disgusting” and “pathetic.”
“Thanks to the courage of the Sandy Hook families, Infowars will soon be finished,” Mattei said in a statement. “In his last gasps, Jones is once again harassing them, only now with the corrupt complicity of at least one DOJ official. It’s as disgusting as it is pathetic, and we will not stand for it.”
The Independent has asked the DOJ for comment.
Martin asked Aldenberg’s attorney to respond to his questions in writing by September 29 and specifically asked to “keep this correspondence confidential” because he did not want to “litigate this in the media.”
However, Jones himself posted a copy of the letter on X on Tuesday morning alongside a photo of him and Martin.
Jones has continuously sought to escape the $1.4 billion defamation payment.
Martin, meanwhile, has embarked on a mission to investigate and potentially prosecute Trump’s claims of anti-conservative bias. Martin has sent letters to others, including medical journals, seeking information about potential bias.
