Watchdog Still Fighting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and AG Ken Paxton in Public Records Lawsuit

The Washington, D.C.-based watchdog organization American Oversight is still locked in a court battle with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over a lawsuit requesting that they release certain public records, including communications with gun advocacy groups and others related to the U.S. Capitol riot.

American Oversight filed the lawsuit in June, suing Abbott’s and Paxton’s offices and asking that the court require them to release responsive documents related to seven public records requests.

Back in August, the watchdog requested a default judgement in its favor, arguing that Paxton’s office had not filed a response in a timely manner, but the attorney general filed a response later that day. Later that month, both Abbott’s and Paxton’s offices filed motions to have the lawsuits dismissed.

On Thursday, the advocacy group asked the 250th District Court in Travis County to reject Abbott and Paxton’s motions to have the lawsuit thrown out. In short, the governor’s and attorney general’s offices had said the lawsuit should be dismissed on the grounds that AG Paxton is supposedly the final word on public records exemptions.

“Gov. Abbott’s and Attorney General Paxton’s disdain for the law has been apparent in every step of this process,” Heather Sawyer, American Oversight’s executive director, said in a press release Thursday.

“Though both officials have a history of refusing to release records of their work to the public, their positions do not allow them to evade accountability,” Sawyer added. “We’re fighting to make sure that the government follows the law.”

The documents the watchdog requested included Paxton’s communications in the lead-up to the so-called “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, after which supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Also among the requested documents are Abbott’s communications with the National Rifle Association and other gun advocacy groups after a mass shooter killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary in Uvalde in late May.

When American Oversight first filed the suit, the group pointed out that although Abbott canceled his scheduled appearance at the NRA conference the weekend after the Uvalde massacre and sent a prerecorded video speech instead, the governor’s office claimed that it had no relevant communications with the NRA at the time.

Likewise, Paxton’s office had refused to release any documents related to his text messages and emails in the period before the Jan. 6 events. Earlier in the day, he had delivered a speech in support of Trump’s claims that the election had been rigged in Joe Biden’s favor.

When Paxton’s office withheld the documents, it argued that they fell within the scope of attorney-client privilege and were exempt.

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