Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered to release emails, texts from around Jan. 6 Capitol attack


The Travis County district attorney's office in Austin informed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Thursday that he had violated the state's open record laws by refusing to release any of his communications from around last Jan. 6, when Paxton was in Washington, D.C., and appeared at the rally the preceded the Capitol siege. District Attorney José Garza (D) gave Paxton four days to "cure this violation" by turning over the documents or face a lawsuit.
The Texas Public Information Act gives the public the right to government records, including those on personal devices or a public official's online accounts. Paxton has tried to claim attorney-client privilege for every email and text he sent in the days surrounding the Jan. 6 attack. The top editors of five newspapers — the Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Houston Chronicle, and the San Antonio Express-News — filed a complaint with the Travis County D.A. on Jan. 4, accusing Paxton of violating the open records law.
The attorney general typically enforces the Public Information Act, but the law also allows the Travis County district attorney's office to handle violations filed against a state agency. The newspapers filed their complaint with Garza.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bill Aleshire, an attorney and transparency expert, told the Chronicle this is the first time he's heard of the statee attorney general being accused of violating the open records law to shield his own communications. "When the public official responsible for enforcing public records laws violates those laws himself, it puts a dagger in the heart of transparency at every level in Texas," he said. "Why should other Texas officials be transparent with public information if the AG himself is not?"
The House Jan. 6 committee is also interested in Paxton's communications with former President Donald Trump and has requested some of them from the National Archives and other federal agencies, The Texas Tribune notes.
Paxton, seeking re-election this year, "is currently facing the fiercest scrutiny of his decades-long career, with several GOP challengers, three state criminal indictments, allegations of an extramarital affair, and a pending FBI bribery investigation," the Chronicle reports. "Paxton has denied any wrongdoing."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Etsy witches and the rise of digital spell-casting
Under the Radar From fixing your love life to hexing a colleague, online sorcerers offer a wide range of services
-
Why is this government shutdown so consequential?
Today's Big Question Federal employee layoffs could be in the thousands
-
Lavender marriage grows in generational appeal
In the spotlight Millennials and Gen Z are embracing these unions to combat financial uncertainty and the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
‘Used correctly, the drug is safe’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day