By Lauren McGaughy, John Tedesco and Jay Root
The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle
Originally published Jan. 13, 2022
The Travis County district attorney has determined that Attorney General Ken Paxton violated Texas’ open records law by not turning over his communications from January 2021, when he appeared at the pro-Trump rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The district attorney gave Paxton four days to remedy the issue or face a lawsuit.
The probe was prompted by a complaint filed by top editors at several of the state’s largest newspapers: the Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News.
In a letter hand delivered to Paxton on Thursday, the district attorney’s head of public integrity said her investigation showed the attorney general’s office broke state law by withholding or failing to retain his own communications that should be subject to public release.