JUDICIAL JUMBLE

Texas AG Ken Paxton Broke Records Laws by Withholding Jan. 6 Texts, DA Says

Paxton has not turned over his communications concerning his travel to the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally.

A Texas district attorney said Thursday that he will take the state attorney general to court if the latter does not hand over his communications relating to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Texas AG Ken Paxton received a letter from Travis County DA José Garza on Thursday notifying him he had broken state records laws by refusing to turn over his communications about his travel to the pro-Donald Trump rally that morphed into an attempted insurrection. Paxton has four days to “cure the violation” or he’ll be in for a lawsuit, the letter said. “After a thorough review of the complaint, the [DA’s] office has determined that Paxton and [his office] violated Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code,” wrote Jackie Wood, director of the district attorney’s public integrity unit. Five Texas newspapers—the Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, and San Antonio Express-News—brought a complaint against Paxton concerning the communications. The attorney general, who is up for re-election in 2022, has been under investigation for more than five years, facing multiple criminal indictments in Texas, a bribery investigation by the FBI, and allegations of an extramarital affair.