This week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) refused to turn over records of his participation at a pro-Trump rally that occurred just ahead of the storming of former President supporters into the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. According to The Associated Press, the Travis County district attorney’s office allotted Paxton four days to turn over the records or face a lawsuit. However, in a Friday letter, Paxton's office reportedly denied the district attorney’s demands and refused to acknowledge any violations, the news outlet reported. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] On Friday, Austin Kinghorn, a lawyer for the attorney general's office, dismissed the district attorney's findings, arguing the office had provided no provisions under the state's open records law that had been violated and implied that the newspapers had made the requests to publish stories about them. "In each instance, complainants' allegations rely on unsupported assumptions and fundamental misunderstandings of the PIA [Public Information Act] and its requirements," Kinghorn wrote. "Frustrated that they have failed to uncover anything worth reporting following 'numerous open records requests to AG Paxton office for various documents,' complainant newspaper editors have sought to leverage your office's authority to further their fishing expedition, or worse, manufacture a conflict between our respective offices that will give rise to publishable content for the complainants' media outlets." Ismael Martinez, a spokesperson for that Travis County district attorney's office, confirmed the office received the letter but could not comment any further. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] The request from the district attorney’s office comes after several Texas news outlets, including The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, and the Austin American-Statesman filed a complaint calling to investigate an alleged violation of open records laws. Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R), were present at the rally held in Washington, D.C., last year. During the event, former President Trump repeated unsupported claims that widespread voter fraud tainted the 2020 presidential election and provoked his supporters to go to Congress and demand they halt the certification of the election results. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] Paxton, for his part, made a speech at the rally detailing an unsuccessful attempt to overturn President Biden’s victory in the presidential election, as per an AP report. The news comes after a series of allegations made against Paxton, including bribery, abuse of office, and others. The FBI is conducting a probe into these allegations. This year, the attorney general is up for reelection and faces several primary challengers.
This week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) refused to turn over records of his participation at a pro-Trump rally that occurred just ahead of the storming of former President supporters into the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. According to The Associated Press, the Travis County district attorney’s office allotted Paxton four days to turn over the records or face a lawsuit. However, in a Friday letter, Paxton's office reportedly denied the district attorney’s demands and refused to acknowledge any violations, the news outlet reported. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] On Friday, Austin Kinghorn, a lawyer for the attorney general's office, dismissed the district attorney's findings, arguing the office had provided no provisions under the state's open records law that had been violated and implied that the newspapers had made the requests to publish stories about them. "In each instance, complainants' allegations rely on unsupported assumptions and fundamental misunderstandings of the PIA [Public Information Act] and its requirements," Kinghorn wrote. "Frustrated that they have failed to uncover anything worth reporting following 'numerous open records requests to AG Paxton office for various documents,' complainant newspaper editors have sought to leverage your office's authority to further their fishing expedition, or worse, manufacture a conflict between our respective offices that will give rise to publishable content for the complainants' media outlets." Ismael Martinez, a spokesperson for that Travis County district attorney's office, confirmed the office received the letter but could not comment any further. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] The request from the district attorney’s office comes after several Texas news outlets, including The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, and the Austin American-Statesman filed a complaint calling to investigate an alleged violation of open records laws. Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R), were present at the rally held in Washington, D.C., last year. During the event, former President Trump repeated unsupported claims that widespread voter fraud tainted the 2020 presidential election and provoked his supporters to go to Congress and demand they halt the certification of the election results. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] Paxton, for his part, made a speech at the rally detailing an unsuccessful attempt to overturn President Biden’s victory in the presidential election, as per an AP report. The news comes after a series of allegations made against Paxton, including bribery, abuse of office, and others. The FBI is conducting a probe into these allegations. This year, the attorney general is up for reelection and faces several primary challengers.
This week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) refused to turn over records of his participation at a pro-Trump rally that occurred just ahead of the storming of former President supporters into the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. According to The Associated Press, the Travis County district attorney’s office allotted Paxton four days to turn over the records or face a lawsuit. However, in a Friday letter, Paxton's office reportedly denied the district attorney’s demands and refused to acknowledge any violations, the news outlet reported. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] On Friday, Austin Kinghorn, a lawyer for the attorney general's office, dismissed the district attorney's findings, arguing the office had provided no provisions under the state's open records law that had been violated and implied that the newspapers had made the requests to publish stories about them. "In each instance, complainants' allegations rely on unsupported assumptions and fundamental misunderstandings of the PIA [Public Information Act] and its requirements," Kinghorn wrote. "Frustrated that they have failed to uncover anything worth reporting following 'numerous open records requests to AG Paxton office for various documents,' complainant newspaper editors have sought to leverage your office's authority to further their fishing expedition, or worse, manufacture a conflict between our respective offices that will give rise to publishable content for the complainants' media outlets." Ismael Martinez, a spokesperson for that Travis County district attorney's office, confirmed the office received the letter but could not comment any further. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] The request from the district attorney’s office comes after several Texas news outlets, including The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, and the Austin American-Statesman filed a complaint calling to investigate an alleged violation of open records laws. Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R), were present at the rally held in Washington, D.C., last year. During the event, former President Trump repeated unsupported claims that widespread voter fraud tainted the 2020 presidential election and provoked his supporters to go to Congress and demand they halt the certification of the election results. [tweet_embed] January 23, 2022[/tweet_embed] Paxton, for his part, made a speech at the rally detailing an unsuccessful attempt to overturn President Biden’s victory in the presidential election, as per an AP report. The news comes after a series of allegations made against Paxton, including bribery, abuse of office, and others. The FBI is conducting a probe into these allegations. This year, the attorney general is up for reelection and faces several primary challengers.