Whistleblowers ask judge to order Ken Paxton, aides to sit for depositions
The motion, filed Tuesday, comes a week after a judge in Burnet County allowed the 3-year-old whistleblower lawsuit to proceed. Full Story
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![At a press conference on May 26, 2023, Attorney General Ken Paxton with aides, from left to right: Tommy Tran, executive assistant; James R. Lloyd, associate deputy attorney general for civil litigation; Austin A. Kinghorn, associate deputy attorney general for legal counsel; Ryan Fisher, director of government relations; Joshua Reno, deputy attorney general for criminal justice; Suzanna Hupp, special adviser; Brent Webster, first assistant attorney general; Lesley French, chief of staff; George Lane, adviser; Paige Willey, deputy communications director; and Ralph M. Molina, deputy attorney general for legal strategy.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton announces investigation of media group following Elon Musk’s lawsuit
After a report from Media Matters showed advertisements from major brands appeared next to antisemitic posts on X, the company sued the media watchdog group and its reporter. The Texas Attorney General’s Office plans to investigate the nonprofit for potential fraud. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Collin County Labor day picnic in Plano, Texas on Sept. 2, 2023, just days before his impeachment trial.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for the Texas Tribune -
Federal court overturns Texas agency’s pollution permit for Gulf Coast natural gas export terminal
Judges overturned a state air pollution permit that was issued last year, arguing that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality illegally enabled Port Arthur LNG to avoid emissions control requirements. Full Story
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![John Beard Jr., the founder and executive director of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, stands in front of the ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy’s Golden Pass LNG facility, just south of Port Arthur, Texas. Beard is a retired refinery worker who first challenged the Port Arthur LNG emissions permit.]()
Credit: James Bruggers/Inside Climate News -
Federal judge seems wary of Texas ban on TikTok at public universities
Last year, Texas joined more than 30 other states in banning TikTok on government-issued cell phones and computers. A nationwide coalition of professors are suing the state over the ban, arguing it has limited their ability to teach and research the social media app. Full Story
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![Students walk through campus at the University of Texas at Dallas on Aug. 27, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas appeals court weighing whether state bar can discipline Ken Paxton for challenging 2020 presidential election
The legal battle stems from the attorney general’s unsuccessful 2020 lawsuit that leaned heavily on discredited claims of election fraud in other states. Paxton’s lawyers argue that the bar’s lawsuit is an attempt to control how he runs his office. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton steps to the podium to make a statement to the press on May 26, 2023, a day before a scheduled impeachment vote. Behind him, from left: Tommy Tran, executive assistant; James R. Lloyd, associate deputy attorney general for civil litigation; Austin A. Kinghorn, associate deputy attorney general for legal counsel; Ryan Fisher, director of government relations; Joshua Reno, deputy attorney general for criminal justice; and Suzanna Hupp, special adviser.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
More women join lawsuit challenging Texas’ abortion laws
Twenty women are challenging the state’s abortion laws, saying they were unable to get the health care they needed for their medically complex pregnancies. Full Story
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![Kimberly Manzano, a new plaintiff joining nine women in a lawsuit against the state of Texas’s abortion ban, poses for portrait at a park in McKinney, TX on November 11, 2023. Manzano had a fatal fetal diagnosis and had to travel out of state to New Mexico for an abortion.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton names administrative law expert with conservative bona fides Texas’ solicitor general
Aaron Nielson will take a one-year leave of absence from BYU’s law school to lead the influential unit within the attorney general’s office. Full Story
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![Aaron Nielson has been appointed Solicitor General by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Brigham Young University -
Judge upholds 2022 Harris County election results, throws out most GOP lawsuits
The judge found that Harris County’s elections office made mistakes and violated the state’s Election Code — but that didn’t affect the outcomes of several 2022 races. He also tossed all but one Republican lawsuit challenging the results. Full Story
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![Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth speaks to the media during a press conference about the upcoming Harris County elections, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Houston.]()
Credit: Marie D. De Jesús/Houston Landing -
Texas executes Brent Brewer, who spent three decades on death row, for murder of Amarillo man
Brewer lost a clemency appeal earlier this week, despite one of his jurors pleading that his life be spared and an expert witness’ methods put into question. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to pause Brewer’s execution Thursday afternoon to hear arguments about the “junk science” used against him. Full Story
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![A still of Brent Brewer from a video provided by his attorneys.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Attorneys for Brent Brewer -
Nate Paul, the businessman at the center of Ken Paxton’s impeachment, charged with four new federal crimes
During the impeachment trial, whistleblowers testified they believed Paul to be a criminal and were concerned that Paxton was essentially turning the keys of the office over to him. Full Story
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![Nate Paul is the CEO of World Class, a real estate holding company.]()
Credit: Social media -
Texas voters reject proposal to increase judges’ retirement ages
Texans soundly defeated a constitutional amendment that would have let judges stay on the bench longer. Proposition 13 would have increased the minimum retirement age from 70 to 75 and the mandatory retirement age from 75 to 79. Full Story
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![The county courtroom in the Camp County Court House in Pittsburg on June 21, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas voters gave retired teachers raises and approved new infrastructure funds as most constitutional amendments passed
Voters approved a massive property tax cut and several other measures, but refused to raise the mandatory retirement age for judges. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol at sunrise on Tuesday, June 6, in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Judge pauses Ken Paxton whistleblower lawsuit
Former top aides to the Texas attorney general are seeking damages for their firings after they reported Paxton to the FBI. The Legislature opted not to authorize a $3.3 million settlement in the lawsuit. Full Story
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![Whistleblower Ryan Vassar sits in the Senate Gallery on the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial at the state capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Appeals court considers Texas’ challenge to federal abortion guidance
The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires hospitals to stabilize any patient in the emergency room, even, the Biden administration noted in recent guidance, if that requires performing an abortion. Texas sued over the guidance last year. Full Story
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![St. David's North Austin Medical Center on July 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court hears Texas case about whether domestic violence suspects can be banned from having guns
The high court heard arguments in the case brought by Zackey Rahimi, who went on a shooting spree after being placed under a domestic violence protective order. Rahimi argues that his constitutional right to bear arms was violated. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Sex trafficking, drugs and assault: Texas foster kids and caseworkers face chaos in rental houses and hotels
A report from Department of Family and Protective Services watchdogs paints a picture of a roughshod safety-net system that is unprepared to protect its youthful charges from predators and unable to keep them from endangering themselves. Full Story
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![Heart Galleries, portraits of adoptable children, on display at the Child Protective Services office at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Harris County judge sides with Ken Paxton’s prosecutors over pay dispute in securities fraud case
Judge Andrea Beall ruled Tuesday that the prosecutors, Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, are owed the $300-an-hour rate by the county that they were promised when they started on the case in 2015. Full Story
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![Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, special prosecutors in the Ken Paxton security fraud case, talk to the media at the Harris County Courthouse in Houston on Aug. 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge orders immigration agents to stop removing Texas’ concertina wire on the border
Border Patrol agents have cut through the state’s wire to free migrants or take them into custody. Judge Alia Moses will hear arguments from Texas and the Biden administration next week to determine whether her temporary order will continue past Nov. 13. Full Story
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![Migrants, mostly from Venezuela, gather near a wire fence after crossing the Rio Bravo river with the intention of turning themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol agents to request asylum, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., September 22, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez -
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s securities fraud trial set for April 15
The charges stem from accusations that in 2011 Paxton tried to solicit investors in a McKinney technology company without disclosing that it was paying him to promote its stock. The attorney general has pleaded not guilty. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a press conference at the Houston Recovery Center on Oct. 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Texas judge’s refusal to marry gay couples goes before state supreme court
Texas Supreme Court justices heard arguments Wednesday in the case of a Waco judge who refused to marry same-sex couples. It is unclear when the high court will issue a ruling. Full Story
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![Judge Dianne Hensley.]()
Credit: Screenshot via KXXV-TV Waco