Megyn Kelly Grills Alex Jones: 'You Don't Sound Very Sorry'

Megyn Kelly pressed conservative firebrand Alex Jones on his access to President Trump, his unfounded conspiracy mongering and his growing following during the "Sunday Night" interview that drew fierce criticism of Kelly and NBC News.

Kelly repeatedly pushed Jones, the founder and chief host of the Infowars radio and online outlet, to offer a mea culpa for his past claim that the 2012 massacre of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was a hoax.

NBC News and Kelly defended the decision to feature Jones on her fledgling newsmagazine series, saying his rising influence made him worthy of scrutiny. Sandy Hook families and others countered that the segment would only spread what Kelly herself called views that "aren't just offensive, they're dangerous." Sandy Hook families urged NBC to reconsider airing the interview. The NBC O&O station serving the Newtown area chose not to air tonight's episode of "Sunday Night."

Jones fanned the flames by releasing on Friday audio recordings of his pre-interview conversation with Kelly, in which she assured that she would not present him as a "bogeyman." During the interview Kelly challenged him about his initial statements on Sandy Hook and his subsequent efforts to backtrack his claim. "That doesn't excuse what you said about Newtown and you know it," she scolded.

Kelly also grilled Jones about his assertions last year that Democrats were running a child sex ring out of a Washington, D.C. pizzeria and that the founder of the Chobani yogurt brand was involved in the sexual assault of a child. Kelly noted that legal threats in both of those instances forced Jones to issue an on-air apology. "You don't sound very sorry," she said as Jones tried to explain why he agreed to the apologies.