Donald Trump and the Texas attorney general have forged a friendship over the years, one that has been cemented in their shared political and legal struggles and their willingness to come to each other’s aid at times of upheaval.
Vianna Davila
Vianna Davila is a reporter with the ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit. Previously, she was the editor of The Seattle Times’ Project Homeless initiative, which examines the causes and effects of homelessness in the Seattle region. She began with the project in 2017 as a reporter, before becoming editor in 2019. Her work with the team was recognized by the Solutions Journalism Network as some of the best solutions reporting of 2018. She previously reported for the San Antonio Express-News, where over 13 years she produced stories on city politics, regional transportation and criminal justice. Her six-part project “The Next Million” explored gentrification, affordable housing, changing demographics and other urban issues in San Antonio, winning the Best of the West 2017 Journalism Contest for online presentation. She graduated from Rice University with a B.A. in English and master’s of journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, with a specialty in documentary film. Her master’s thesis film, “In His Blood,” about the lives of overnight television news videographers, was named the best documentary short at the 2009 San Antonio Film Festival. She has previously taught journalism at the University of Washington, Texas State University and Texas A&M University-San Antonio. She is a San Antonio native and a 10th-generation Texan. She is based in Austin. (Photo: Bettina Hansen, The Seattle Times)
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Politics
Problems voting on Election Day? Tell us your stories.
Tell us about any trouble you have trying to vote, so we can continue to report on potential challenges Texans may face at the ballot box.
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Investigations
This Trump supporter was labeled a noncitizen and kicked off Texas’ voter rolls
Mary Howard-Elley is the 10th U.S. citizen identified by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Votebeat whose registration was canceled after her citizenship was questioned. Her saga shows how tough it can be for eligible voters to get reinstated.
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Politics
Texas lawmakers signal push to require proof of citizenship from voters
Gov. Greg Abbott gave an inflated number of noncitizens removed from the state’s voter rolls, officials acknowledged, confirming findings by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, and Votebeat.
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Politics
Watch: Texas lawmakers discuss noncitizens on the voter rolls
Here’s what you need to know after a ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Votebeat investigation found that Gov. Greg Abbott likely inflated the number of noncitizens on voter rolls.
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Investigations
Gov. Greg Abbott boasted that Texas removed 6,500 noncitizens from its voter rolls. That number was likely inflated.
An investigation by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Votebeat found that U.S. citizens were incorrectly labeled as noncitizens or removed from the rolls because they did not respond to letters about their citizenship.
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Courts
Judge reportedly strikes down Texas law that Ken Paxton frequently uses to investigate companies and nonprofits
A federal judge said Texas’ “request to examine” statute amounts to unconstitutional search and seizure, Bloomberg reported.
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State Government
Attorney General Ken Paxton targets El Paso nonprofit that offers legal services to migrants
Attorney General Ken Paxton has investigated at least five organizations this year that do immigration-related work.
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Criminal Justice
Judge denies Texas’ attempt to shut down El Paso migrant shelter
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has accused Annunciation House, which operates a network of migrant shelters, of human smuggling.
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Investigations
How Ken Paxton is stretching the boundaries of consumer protection laws to pursue political targets
The attorney general repeatedly uses laws meant to protect against fraudulent or deceptive practices to target hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and LGBTQ+ groups.