The story
Edward R. Martin Jr., an associate deputy attorney general in Trump's Department of Justice, has launched an investigation into retired FBI special agent William Aldenberg. Why? The stated reason is that Aldenberg might have abused his government authority. However, the most likely reason is that Trump has targeted Aldenberg in his campaign to protect his criminal friends. In this case, Alex Jones.
Martin is yet another loyal, eager beaver, legal crusader stuffed by Trump and his zealots into a DOJ whose mission is no longer to protect the citizens' interests. But whose mandate is to now act as a sword, wielded by a vengeful man, to punish all those who have held him and his fellow travelers accountable for their crimes.
The background
Jones infamously, strenuously, and maliciously denied that in 2012, Adam Lanza had massacred 20 children and six staff members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Relatives of the victims sued the big-mouth blackguard for the repeated and sadistic denials he made to boost his bottom line.
In 2022, a jury awarded family members of five children and three educators killed in the shooting, as well as one first responder, a total of $965 million for the emotional distress and other harm caused by Jones's cavalier disregard of the truth, obstruction of the investigation, and general assholiness.
Aldenberg was the first responder. He was awarded $90 million after Jones and his followers falsely identified him as a "crisis actor." Circulated pictures of Aldenberg online. And claimed he was impersonating grieving parents. A fiction that subjected him to harassment, threats, and severe emotional distress.
Martin's fishing expedition vs Aldenberg
On Sept 15, Martin sent a letter to Christopher Mattei of the law firm Koskoff and Bieder. Mattei represented Aldenberg in his case against Jones. In it, Martin demanded that the attorney provide the DOJ with information he had on his client.
I am no expert in the law covering attorney/client privilege — but this seems like an illegal ask. In addition, this isn't a considered step to forward a legitimate inquiry. It's a shoot-and-hope fishing expedition.
The letter requests (with my commentary):
- Substance of conversations between Aldenberg and his lawyers, asking: "Did SA Aldenberg reveal any financial benefits that might accrue to him?" (See attorney/client privilege)
- Details of Aldenberg's testimony. (Which is a matter of public record)
- When Aldenberg "recused himself." (Since when do witnesses recuse themselves? If they are giving biased or false testimony, that would be a matter for Jones' attorneys to uncover during trial)
- If the lawyers knew how Berlin Rosen [a PR company] achieved "newsjacking." (How would Mattei know? Besides, does "newsjacking" have a legal definition? And under any definition is it a crime? And if it is a crime, what's that crime's name?)
Here is the text of the letter (page one):
(page 2):
Who's the blabbermouth?
In the letter, Martin requests that Mattei and Berlin Rosen "keep this correspondence confidential." Which is odd, as the letter is neither addressed to nor cc'd to Berlin Rosen.
A more significant question the astute reader will ask is: if the letter was supposed to be kept confidential, how does this writer have a copy of it? The answer is that Alex Jones posted it to Twitter, under the restrained rubric:
Breaking! The DOJ's Task Force On Government Weaponization Against The American People Has Launched An Investigation Into The Democrat Party / FBI Directing Illegal Law-fare Against Alex Jones And Infowars
Read the letter below.
Which raises the question: how did Jones get it? And why, despite no mention of the "Democrat Party" in the letter, does Jones declare it's an investigation into the Democratic Party?
That answer is obvious. There are no grounds for thinking that Mattei gave to Jones — why would he? Which only leaves the DOJ as Jones’s source. It seems that while Martin writes he doesn't want to "litigate this in the media", he is making sure it is litigated in the media. And he is reassuring Trump's allies (sub rosa) that it is an attack on Trump's political opponents.
