Paxton’s lawyer had argued that federal prosecutors based out of San Antonio had an “obvious conflict” in the investigation.
James Barragán
James Barragán was a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune with a focus on accountability reporting. Prior to joining the Tribune, James worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News and previously had stints at the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Reporting for his coverage of Texas politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. James was selected as a 2023-24 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. A Southern California native, James received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority bills signal another swing at pushing Texas to the right
Speaking in December, Patrick was less out front about conservative priorities like school book bans and restrictions to rights for transgender people. His priority bill list made clear those are a major part of his focus.
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Politics
Attorney General Ken Paxton agrees to apologize and pay $3.3 million to whistleblowers in settlement
Paxton and the four whistleblowers asked the Texas Supreme Court to defer consideration of the case until they can finalize the settlement, after which they’ll move to end the case.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls for new election in Harris County after voting problems in November
A spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said only a court order could force a redo of elections.
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Politics
Texas Senate leaders signal intent to spend big on border security
The state has spent $4 billion on border initiatives in the past two years, including $40 million to bus migrants out of Texas into Democrat-led cities.
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Politics
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton negotiating settlement with his former deputies over retaliation lawsuit
Three of Paxton’s four former employees who sued him for unjustly firing them when they reported his actions to authorities are considering settling with the attorney general.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick unveils committee assignments with one Democratic chair
Conservative activists have pushed for legislative leaders to ban Democrats from leading committees.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas lawmakers want to end state holiday commemorating Confederate veterans
For the third straight legislative session, state Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, has filed a bill to end Confederate Heroes Day as a state holiday.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas senators draw lots to determine how long their terms will be
After redistricting, the state constitution requires senators to draw lots to determine which half of the chamber will have four-year terms and which will have two-year terms. This keeps Senate district elections staggered every two years for the rest of the decade.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate votes to take up redistricting again
The redistricting process this year is mostly procedural and is not expected to produce very different results from the most recent process completed in 2021.
