CNN
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A bankruptcy judge has blocked The Onion’s winning bid for Alex Jones’ conspiracy platform Infowars, citing concerns about the auction process that he said left money on the table.

“I will not agree to sell to the buyer. I think there is a great lack of clarity here,” said Judge Christopher Lopez, bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Texas, during Tuesday’s sentencing.

Lopez said the process, “while well-intentioned, did not maximize value in any way, based on the records I have.”

Last month, a court-appointed trustee said the satirical news site had won the auction to acquire Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, which was sold as part of a defamation settlement after Jones falsely called the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre joke.

The Onion’s offering was supported by the families of eight school shooting victims and a first responder. According to court documents, The Onion, through its parent company Global Tetrahedron, offered $1.75 million in cash and a “loan” from the Connecticut families, who offered to forego 100% of their share of the surcharge to support the effort, according to court documents The valuation of the bid was $7 million.

The other competing offer of $3.5 million in cash came from First United American Companies, a subsidiary of Jones that runs his lucrative online nutritional supplement store.

But Lopez said he had objections to the auction process. The court-appointed trustee in the case, who had wide discretion to conduct the auction and select the winner at his own discretion, had initially said there would be a live auction.

But that process was then switched to sealed “best and final bids.” After The Onion was declared the winner, Jones and First United American Companies sued to stop what they called a “Frankenstein” bid because of the loans promised by the families and other complaints about the auction process.

A two-day hearing was held during which witnesses were called to discuss the auction process and the bidding involved. The testimony extended late into the evening Tuesday, with Lopez testifying around 10:30 p.m. Central Time.

While Lopez said he had no problem with the composition of The Onion’s offer and that everyone acted in “good faith,” he believed the trustee “left a lot of money on the table, or potential for a lot of money on the table.” Table, potential.” because of the auction process and because other bidders did not know about the competing offers. Lopez said the trustee should “scratch every last dollar.”

Jones was previously ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims. But he stalled on paying that judgment, even as court records show he continued to spend tens of thousands of dollars a month.

Everything from the platform’s studio equipment to its online supplement store, a Terradyne armored truck, his social media accounts and even a Winnebago RV were up for sale to the highest bidder.

Jones had used Infowars to push some of the most disturbing and vile lies and conspiracy theories into public discourse. And he enriched himself millions of dollars in the process, profiting from a trading machine he built out of the fear he spread on his platform.

Ben Collins, The Onion’s CEO, said in a statement that they were “deeply disappointed” by the decision but “will continue to seek a solution that helps the Sandy Hook families achieve a positive outcome to the horror.” that they suffered.”

“We will continue to explore a path to purchasing InfoWars in the coming weeks. It’s part of our larger mission to create a better and more entertaining Internet, regardless of the outcome of this case,” he added.

In a statement, Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut families, said they were “disappointed” by the decision.

“These families, who have already weathered countless delays and obstacles, remain resilient and determined as ever to hold Alex Jones and his corrupt companies accountable for the harm he has caused,” he said. “This decision does not change the fact that Alex Jones will soon begin paying off his debts to these families and will continue to do so for as long as necessary.”

It’s not clear what happens next to Infowars. Lopez ordered the court-appointed trustee to go back and consider what he wants to do next, although he noted that he doesn’t think it “makes sense” to reopen the item for another auction.

“I need to feel a lot more comfortable before people start spending a lot of money and we have another two-day hearing where we question business judgment,” he said.

Regardless of the outcome of that sale, Jones still owes the families more than $1 billion, although he has appealed the ruling.

On his show Tuesday night, Jones celebrated the decision, saying, “We can celebrate the judge who did the right thing with the most ridiculously fraudulent auction in human history.”