Attorney General Ken Paxton is possibly in big trouble, and the reason why just might be very surprising to you…
A letter from a Texas attorney general is now making waves because it was sent to the state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and claims that he has violated the state’s open records laws because he was required to release some of the communications sought by five newspapers related to the January 6th, 2021 that preceded the Capitol riot.
Jackie Wood, the director of public integrity and complex crimes for the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, wrote to Paxton, telling him that their office had determined that he was in violation of Texas open records laws after several Texas news outlets sought information about this January 6th rally, which he happened to attend.
The top editors at the Austin American-Statesman, the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the San Antonio Express-News filed a complaint with the Travis County District Attorney’s office earlier this month, according to the Texas Tribune.
Paxton and his wife went to a rally just prior to the Capitol Insurrection on January 6th where former President Trump claimed that the only reason he lost the election was due to widespread voter fraud, according to the news outlet.
Editors and reporters are seeking information about communications he made between January 5th and January 13th, 2021. They also want to investigate communications he received from a phone number that was related to “sate business” about a month later on February 12th as well as any “records of any text messages from Feb. 19, 2021 exchanged between AG Paxton and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes related to official business, including, but not limited to, visiting a live law enforcement scenario simulators.”
There were some responses from Paxton’s office that claimed that the information sought was protected under attorney-client privilege or that “there was no information responsive to your request.” Paxton also provided identical documents that had been provided by another state attorney general in the first place.
Undeterred, the prosecutors wrote to Paxton saying that their office had found evidence that he had violated Texas open records laws and that the attorney general of the Lonestar State had four days to “cure this violation.”
One of Paxton’s spokespersons said that neither the Texas attorney general nor anyone in his office had violated the Texas open records laws.
“This is a fake controversy drummed up by hard-left local officials because they want to reignite hysteria about the attorney general’s political speech on January 6, 2020, which was not an official state activity,” the spokesperson, Alejandro Garcia, said in a statement. “Our agency has complied and will continue to comply with all state and federal law regarding public transparency. Travis County officials are wasting everyone’s time and money with this non-issue.” So yes, even though Ken Paxton is possibly in big trouble, there are people willing to go to bat for him.
Moreover, the Texas Tribune reported that, according to Texas law, state agencies that have any type of open records complaint made against their office either have to have it handled by the Texas attorney general or the Travis County district attorney, which is yet another reason why Ken Paxton could be possibly in big trouble.
Incidentally, the news outlet noted that the person responsible for handling such cases is a Democrat, José Garza.
