“InfoWars” host Alex Jones has released “pre-interview” footage of his interview with NBC anchor Megyn Kelly to “set the record straight.”
On June 12, NBC released a brief portion of the interview, which is due to be broadcast in full this Sunday. The promo clip quickly resulted in a firestorm of criticism, particularly from families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, a tragedy Jones has described as a hoax.
Jones claims the interview has been “highly edited” and leaked audio of a portion of his conversation with Kelly in retaliation. In the recording, the anchor can be heard saying: “All I can do is give you my word and tell you if there’s one thing about me, I do what I say I’m going to do… It’s not going to be some ‘gotcha’ hit piece, I promise you that.”
Alex Jones Megyn Kelly Full Interview Leaked – https://t.co/eUpED1XSoU … #NBCFakeNews #msmFail #infowars
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 16, 2017
NBC did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.
Before Jones posted extended footage on his YouTube channel, he uploaded a video on Twitter to explain his decision. “I’ve never done this in 22 years… I’ve never recorded another journalist,” he said, adding: “But I knew that it was a fraud, that it was a lie… I said Sandy Hook happened, everything, she wouldn’t even put it in the promo pieces.”
So far Kelly has only publicly responded to the initial criticism surrounding her interview with Jones, posting a note on Twitter that the “goal in sitting down with him was to shine a light – as journalists are supposed to do — on this influential figure.”