The attorney defending conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a Texas trial made his own national headlines this week for accidentally handing over highly sensitive data to his opponents, opening him up to potential legal consequences. Houston attorney Federico Antino Reynal acknowledged that Jones’ legal team had provided lawyers to the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting with a digital copy of the Infowars founder’s phone contents, which included messages text and medical records. The revelation was made public by a lawyer for the parents in a dramatic exchange with Jones as the trial drew to a close. The disclosure may have exposed Raynal to sanctions in a different case, as well as the possibility of malpractice claims by Jones, according to court documents and attorneys who followed the trial. Jones could bring a malpractice claim against his attorneys, but would have to prove he would have had a better outcome than the Texas trial had the phone information not been turned over, said Randy Johnston, a Dallas malpractice attorney. . “Any complaint he would make is, essentially, ‘but for my lawyers, I’d be a successful liar,’” Johnston said. Reynal told Reuters on Friday that his focus “has always been on the jury and making the best case for Alex.” He said the sanctions being sought against him may be for “tactical advantage” by his opponents. Jones could not immediately be reached for comment. An Austin jury on Friday awarded the parents $45.2 million in punitive damages against Jones for falsely calling the 2012 massacre a hoax, on top of a $4.1 million punitive damages verdict the day before. A judge in Austin had rejected a bid by Raynal on Thursday to protect the phone records and dismissed his wrongful-death claim over the disclosure. A Connecticut state judge overseeing another Sandy Hook defamation case against Jones on Thursday ordered Reynal and another of Jones’ attorneys, Norm Pattis, to appear later this month for hearings to consider sanctions or other discipline with the “alleged” unauthorized release of the Sandy Hook medical plaintiffs. registrations. Pattis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reynal’s small Houston law firm primarily handles criminal defense cases in state and federal courts. Successfully defended Carmen Maria Montiel, former Miss Venezuela, against the 2013 charge of assaulting a flight attendant. A court acquitted her in 2015. Montiel, now a Republican candidate for Congress, said her daughter, who wants to be a lawyer, was hooked on Reynal. Montiel said he “always does what’s best for his customers.” Raynal also represented Cody Wilson, who ran a 3D printing gun company. Wilson was charged with sexual assault in 2018 and later pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Wilson told Reuters on Friday that Raynal had “an impossible task” in the Jones case, but represented Jones “to the best of his ability.” Prior to starting his business, Reynal was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. He previously practiced at the law firm Baker Botts, according to his LinkedIn profile. State bar of Texas records do not list a public disciplinary proceeding against him. Johnston said the information on Jones’ phone related to the Sandy Hook claims should have been given to plaintiffs before trial as part of a court-monitored process known as discovery. Once Jones’ attorneys learned they had mistakenly shared the phone records, they should have at least warned Jones before he was on the stand, he said. Johnston said the Sandy Hook parents could seek sanctions against the attorneys and possibly Jones for failing to release relevant parts of the phone data earlier, and there could be a judicial inquiry into whether other information was improperly disclosed. After Friday’s verdict, plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Bankston told Judge Maya Guerra Gamble that they would seek sanctions against Jones’ attorneys on three counts, including telling jurors that their verdict would affect other people’s legal, protected speech . Toward the end of Friday’s proceedings, Reynal told Gamble he was informed of the inadvertent phone disclosure while Jones was testifying Wednesday. “That’s not true,” the judge responded, telling Reynal he had given her an email showing he knew about it 12 days earlier. “This is our position,” Reynal insisted, eliciting a chuckle from the judge. This content appears as provided to The Globe by the original wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.
