In a follow-up to this morning's report on Mike Postle receiving a brief extension in his battle to prevent being involuntarily declared bankrupt, Poker.org has learned that Postle has become a small part of a high-profile Texas libel case targeting far-right pundit Alex Jones and his Infowars media operation.
The disclosure comes in the form of documents attached to Postle's August 13 filing in his California bankruptcy matter. Postle asserted in that filing that attorney Marc J. Randazza was acting out of spite and in bad faith in pursuing Postle for legal fees awarded to Veronica Brill.
The link into the Texas libel case targeting Jones comes via the unofficial legal aid Postle received from Alexandrea Merrell and the HONR Network. That group was formed by Sandy Hook parent Lenny Pozner to combat Jones' conspiracy theories, which have included claims that the Sandy Hook massacre never even occurred. The HONR Network filed libel actions against Jones in both Texas and Connecticut. Randazza is one of several attorneys who have defended Jones' claims on 1st Amendment grounds.
Heated conversations and text messages about Merrell's involvement
Postle's insertion into the Texas libel case against Jones includes accusations that Randazza committed "witness intimidation" against Postle amid contentious conversations involving Randazza, Postle, and Merrell during Postle's separate $330 million libel case targeting Brill, Todd Witteles, and other poker figures. Randazza, representing Brill, and attorney Eric Bensamochan, who represents Witteles, both questioned in case filings how Merrell could offer continuing "legal" advice to Postle, who has officially represented himself in several poker-related cases.
This in turn led to the caustic exchanges involving Merrill and Randazza. Postle and Merrell asserted in the Texas filing that Randazza called Merrell a "fu***** c***," a claim Randazza vehemently denied. The exchange then led to a series of text messages between Postle and Randazza. Randazza demanded that Postle retract the legal filing about the alleged sexist term or face a separate libel action.
In one phone message attached to Postle's August 13 bankruptcy filing, Randazza typed to Postle, "You need do nothing more than send a letter stating that you made an error. That indeed, I did say 'fuc**** liar' -- I will never deny that. But I certainly did not call Merrell a 'fu***** bi***' nor a 'fu***** c***'." Randazza added, "There is a non zero chance I thought those things, but they never came out of my mouth."
Randazza, speaking directly to Poker.org, also asserted that an office aide monitored the phone conversation in question. The aide, he said, was fully mindful of the perils of committing perjury in connection with an ongoing case. Randazza also said, "You can quote my declaration as a sworn statement, sworn under penalty of perjury."
Episode claimed as 'witness intimidation', filed into Texas Infowars case
Instead of apologizing, Postle -- perhaps with Merrell and the HONR Network's support -- claimed that Randazza conducted witness intimidation in making the libel threat and demanding a retraction. That in turn became the basis for an August 2 filing in the Texas libel case brought by four Sandy Hook parents. Painting the admittedly controversial Randazza in a bad light might aid their ongoing claims against his clients in Texas, Jones and Infowars.
The Texas filing also asserts that Randazza allegedly threatened to sue Postle for recording their March 2021 phone conversations. California is a two-party state: the party doing the recording must receive consent from the other party involved in the call. Postle denied recording any calls. Instead, he again insisted Randazza had used the C-word in reference to Merrell.
Postle also replied to Randazza as follows: "As I have said before, I find you beyond unprofessional and yet again, there's no need to have contact with you unless it is specifically for court business. These threats are NOT court business." Postle then added, "There's really no reason to contact me other than to continue harassing and threatening me. You've admitted that 'because things have been made personal' and that 'it's a big mistake on [my] part,' it's very clear while you're still coming at me."
The Texas filing, however, is entirely about Randazza's alleged transgressions in a California court case. The amended Texas filing about Randazza's claimed witness tampering seeks no sanctions against him. It has zero legal impact, and thus must be seen solely as an attempt to demonize Randazza in the eyes of the Texas court.
Featured image source: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic, photo by Sean P. Anderson, https://www.flickr.com/photos/seanpanderson/12844952283/
