Despite his role as Texas’ lead attorney, Paxton has denied representation to state agencies at least 75 times in the past two years, according to records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. The denials forced some of those agencies to assume additional, unanticipated costs as they scrambled to secure legal assistance.And that costs money. Which got the attention of the Lege as recently as the 2021 session:
Texas lawmakers in 2021 required the attorney general’s office to begin reporting each time it declined to represent a state agency. It’s unclear what prompted the mandate.
ProPublica and the Tribune obtained records documenting dozens of denials through a Public Information Act request, but the vast majority do not include a clear reason for the decisions. The attorney general’s office declined to provide specifics about its communications with state agencies, including those that occurred before the reporting requirement went into effect, citing attorney-client privilege. The office also did not respond to a question about whether the agency tracked these denials prior to 2021.
Lawmakers took additional action this year, requiring the attorney general to start giving reasons for the denials beginning Sept. 1.Yes, as the article details, Paxton is declining to do the job of the Texas AG as required by law and the State Constitution. And he’s doing it because of ideological reasons or more bluntly because his donors are funding the suits against the state. And yes, that’s reprehensible.
But no, that’s not why a Texas GOP Senate might be inclined to remove Paxton from office.
“Follow the money.” Especially when it’s state taxpayers’ money.
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