The latest Attorney General's Office news from The Texas Tribune.
Paxton’s attorneys argued to a panel of Texas 3rd Court of Appeals justices on Wednesday that a lawsuit from former deputies should be thrown out. The ex-employees claim they were fired after reporting Paxton to law enforcement. Full Story
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The Fort Worth lawmaker, who has been close to Paxton, is the third serious primary challenger to emerge. Full Story
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Attorneys for former employees who were fired after accusing Paxton of abuse of office say report is "full of half-truths, outright lies, and glaring omissions." Meanwhile, the FBI is also reportedly investigating. Full Story
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Paxton is facing a primary challenge from Bush, the land commissioner, as well as Eva Guzman, the former state Supreme Court justice. Full Story
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Merritt officially began his Democratic campaign Tuesday with an emphasis on the voting rights battle that caused state House Democrats to leave Texas a day earlier. Full Story
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Attorneys in the lawsuit, which was filed in April, argued that being blocked from viewing Paxton’s tweets limited the rights of people to access statements made by the public official, therefore violating the First Amendment. Full Story
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The Republican made her bid official Monday, touting her experience and integrity. She'll face incumbent Ken Paxton and Land Commissioner George P. Bush in the primary. Full Story
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The 7-2 ruling said the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to sue over the law. The court’s ruling did not include an official opinion on whether the law, commonly known as Obamacare, was constitutional. Full Story
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In a nonbinding opinion, Ken Paxton said the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council doesn’t have the authority to punish social workers who refuse service to clients based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or disability status. Full Story
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Guzman's candidacy adds a new dynamic to the primary that is already unfolding between incumbent Paxton and Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Full Story
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Bush made his challenge official Wednesday evening during an event at a downtown Austin bar. Former President Donald Trump said last week that he would issue an endorsement in the race "in the not-so-distant future." Full Story
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In an 85-page brief filed Tuesday, the attorney general’s lawyers argue that under state law, a whistleblower must believe someone has broken the law, but the aides only reported that “they expected laws might be violated.” Full Story
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The case was moved to Harris County from Collin County after prosecutors argued that having the trial there would be unfair because of Paxton's political ties in that region. Full Story
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The former president said in a statement Tuesday that he'll issue an endorsement "in the not-so-distant future." Full Story
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In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to Land Commissioner George P. Bush about the state of the state and the issues in play as the 2021 session winds down — and about his rumored plans to challenge Ken Paxton in the GOP primary for Texas attorney general. Full Story
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Bush has a unique history with Trump as the only prominent member of his famous political family to back the former president. Meanwhile, Paxton has tightly aligned himself with Trump in recent months. Full Story
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It’s unclear if Paxton has unblocked others on Twitter who were not named in the lawsuit. Full Story
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California banned state-funded travel to Texas because of a 2017 religious-refusal law for adoptions in the state, which critics called discriminatory against LGBTQ families. Full Story
The lawsuit argues that being blocked from viewing the attorney general's tweets is a violation of the First Amendment because it limits the right of people to participate in a public forum and access Ken Paxton's statements. Full Story
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Bush said the state's top law enforcement official "needs to be above reproach." Full Story