Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General, does not want the public to see his communications immediately before, during, or after the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol, despite a policy that seemingly requires him to do so.
Paxton, a Republican and pro-Trump booster, spoke at the infamous January 6th rally in Washington D.C. He told the crowd, “What we have in President Trump is a fighter. And I think that’s why we’re all here. We will not quit fighting. We’re Texans, we’re Americans, and the fight will go on.”
Fight they did. By the end of the day, five people were killed, the democratic process was disrupted, and the fragility of the Capitol’s security was exposed and exploited. In the months since, approximately 400 people have been arrested in connection with the attack.
But Paxton has largely avoided accountability. Now, a collection of his state’s leading news organizations want to know what exactly Paxton knew about the January 6th rally – and who paid for him to be there.
From The Texas Tribune:
Several news organizations in Texas have requested copies of the attorney general’s work-related communications. The Texas Public Information Act guarantees the public’s right to government records — even if those records are stored on personal devices or online accounts of public officials.
Confounding matters is that Paxton’s office oversees the implementation of the Texas Public Information Act. So far, they have refused to hand over any information pertaining to the various requests, citing attorney-client privilege (the client in this instance would be the state of Texas).
James Hemphill, a lawyer and open records expert, told the Texas Tribune, “It would seem unusual for every single communication made by any kind of lawyer to be subject to attorney-client privilege.”
Curiously, Paxton’s office has released other top staffers’ communications related to the controversial trip to D.C.
The Texas Tribune also explains how Paxton has stonewalled efforts to understand who funded his travel to participate in the rally:
In a recent legislative hearing, the attorney general did not directly answer questions from state senators about whether he spent any taxpayer money on the travel.
“I didn’t spend money personally,” he said. Paxton added he had official business in Washington D.C., the week of the rally, when he met with federal officials about a Medicaid program.
“I had a state purpose,” Paxton said. “The next day I had meetings at the White House. …That’s how I spent most of my time.”
Paxton was one of the state attorney generals who filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. That case – like dozens of similar efforts – failed.
In November, the Associated Press reported that Paxton is being investigated by the FBI for “using his office to benefit a wealthy donor.”
