Texas AG Paxton needs to follow the law and release his Capitol riot-related messages

In the introduction to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s own 2022 Public Information Act Handbook, he writes: “Texans have the right to see how their government is spending their tax dollars and exercising the powers they have granted it. That knowledge is essential to preserving the rule of law, protecting the democratic process, and defending the liberty we all cherish.”

Too bad that in one high-profile case, Paxton has yet to make good on his own passionate statement demonstrating the relationship between transparency, government corruption and liberty.

On Thursday, the Travis County district attorney notified Paxton that he violated the state’s open records law by not turning over his work-related communications from Jan. 6, 2021, when he appeared at President Donald Trump’s rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and that he has four days to do so or he faces a lawsuit.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a part of this call for transparency, and we urge Paxton to do the right thing and turn over his government communications as the state’s public information law requires. The Star-Telegram partnered with the Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News in asking the Travis County DA to try to force disclosure of Paxton’s messages about his activity in Washington.

Texas AG broke law when he didn’t share Jan. 6 communications, Travis County DA says

Jackie Wood, director of public integrity and complex crimes at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, told Paxton in a letter that he had broken the law either by refusing to share records or failing to keep any at all.

Paxton staffers argue that his records are exempt under the attorney-client privilege allowed in the Texas Government Code. This seems unlikely given that, according to the Public Information Act Handbook, the requirements for refusing to provide government communications citing attorney-client privilege are extensive. We find it difficult to believe that every single exchange Paxton had Jan. 5-11 falls into that category, given that he was in Washington during part of that time and even gave a speech before the riots began.

It doesn’t take an FBI profiler to see that Paxton’s office seems to be simply evading transparency when it suits the attorney general. Paxton is the state officer charged with adjudicating disputes over information requests, and it’s a huge conflict of interest for his staffers to oversee the disclosure of information involving their boss. Elected officials should support the right of the people and the press to seek transparency from their government officials without regard for the political consequences.

The public interest served by disclosure of the communications is obvious. Paxton has been a staunch Trump defender, even bringing a contemptible lawsuit to the Supreme Court on behalf of the former president’s claims of a stolen election. Texans deserve to know what their attorney general was doing as those claims fueled the riot at the Capitol and afterward.

But more simply, the law is plain, and the attorney general, like all elected officials, should follow it.

Paxton espoused transparency in his Public Information Act Handbook. It’s time to make good on that pledge. He must produce his communications, honor the right of the public to request and receive information from government officials, and stop evading answers that the voters deserve.

The information indeed will help defend the “liberty we all cherish.”