Connecticut state Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis was surprised on Thursday after one of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' attorneys invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a disciplinary hearing.
The disciplinary hearing came after Jones' legal team inadvertently turned over the entire contents of Jones' cell phone in a Sandy Hook defamation trial. The data showed Jones' had possession of "highly confidential" records.
The Connecticut Postreported Jones' attorney Andino Reynal said, "It was the worst day of my legal career."
"Reynal’s admission on Thursday that he was “very, very worried about what happened” was in contrast to the stoic testimony of New Haven defense attorney Norm Pattis, who is running Jones’ defense in a Connecticut defamation awards trial set to begin on Sept. 13," the newspaper reported. "Pattis refused to answer questions on the witness stand about his role in the leak, citing his rights under the Fifth Amendment 25 times."
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The Hartford Courantreported Judge Bellis said, “This is highly unusual, I would say, at the least, if not unprecedented for an attorney to take the Fifth during a show cause hearing."
She ordered the attorneys to submit briefs on the implications of the Fifth Amendment invocation.
Connecticut Public Radio said six of six jurors have already been accepted for the Sept. 13 trial, with three of the four alternate journals remaining to be chosen.
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