On Thursday, a Texas House committee recommended that state Attorney General Ken Paxton be impeached.

News Roundup: Eyes on Texas
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On Thursday, a Texas House committee recommended that ([link removed]) state Attorney General Ken Paxton be impeached. Investigators for the committee ([link removed]) had testified that they believed Paxton had broken several state laws and had engaged in a series of abuses of office.
* Among the allegations against Paxton, many of which were already known, are charges that Paxton misspent office funds, took bribes, obstructed justice, fired employees who spoke out against him, and used his office to benefit a political donor.


Paxton, who was reelected last year despite the numerous scandals, claimed the call for impeachment ([link removed]) amounts to an effort “to overturn the results of a free and fair election.” The statement is particularly ironic given that Paxton played a major role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election, having led the charge on a lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to throw out the results from four swing states.
* In an article highlighting Paxton’s statements, Mother Jones ([link removed]) pointed to emails from December 2020 that American Oversight obtained from the Florida attorney general’s office.
* The emails show ([link removed]) lawyers in the office of AG Ashley Moody — who the next day joined more than a dozen other attorneys general in supporting it — ridiculed Paxton’s lawsuit as “batshit insane” and “weird,” and speculated about Paxton’s motivations for filing it.
* One colleague apparently questioned whether Paxton’s support for former President Trump’s effort to stay in office was a “request for a pardon,” perhaps referring to an investigation into Paxton’s conduct.
* Another said that he wasn’t surprised that the state’s solicitor general had not initiated the lawsuit, adding that he must be “the only guy in the Texas AG’s front office who didn’t quit/wasn’t fired for alleging that Paxton committed crimes.”


American Oversight has sued Paxton’s office, and the office of Gov. Greg Abbott, for failing to release several sets of public records, including email communications with gun industry lobbyists as well as any emails sent by Paxton around Jan. 6, 2021, when Paxton spoke at the “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House prior to the attack on the Capitol.
* In February, a Texas judge denied Paxton’s and Abbott’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. Paxton and Abbott had taken a position that would have eviscerated the public’s ability to enforce the state’s Public Information Act.


Meanwhile, Texas became the latest state to drop out ([link removed]) of the multistate Electronic Registration Information Center, the program used by dozens of states to maintain voter rolls and prevent duplicate voter registrations.
* The backlash to ERIC among several conservative states is rooted in conspiracy theories and misinformation.
* Also this week, the Texas House voted ([link removed]) to force Harris County — home to Houston — to remove its top election official, giving the secretary of state more authority over elections there.

On the Records

Michael Pack’s Abuses of Power at USAGM
A federal investigation ([link removed]) found that Michael Pack, the Trump appointee who served as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, “repeatedly abused the powers of his office, broke laws and regulations, and engaged in gross mismanagement” during his tenure in 2020.
* The new report from the Office of Special Counsel, which corroborates a number of whistleblower complaints, details how Pack violated journalists’ independence and broke privacy laws while head of USAGM, which oversees several broadcast agencies including Voice of America.
* We previously investigated Pack’s efforts to politicize USAGM and uncovered records ([link removed]) that shed light on his hiring of Trump loyalists as well as his rejection of foreign journalists’ visa renewal requests. Read more about our investigation here ([link removed]) .

Other Stories We're Following

Election Denial and Threats to Democracy
* How conservative activists worked to kill an effort to protect Florida election workers from harassment (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Cyber Ninjas CEO’s voting machine activities in Georgia draw investigation and scrutiny (Sarasota Herald-Tribune ([link removed]) )
* Key witness in Lake trial sent more than 100 messages to Cyber Ninjas’ owner during ‘audit’ (Arizona Republic ([link removed]) )
* Buckingham GOP nominates recently fired registrar for seat on elections board (Virginia Mercury ([link removed]) )
* Citing ‘plenary powers,’ GOP leader claims a non-binding resolution bans Arizona election machines (Arizona Mirror ([link removed]) )
* At news conference, Kari Lake makes false claims about Arizona election trial, vows to appeal ruling (Arizona Republic ([link removed]) )
* Groups settle Arizona lawsuit over voter intimidation at ballot boxes (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Lawyer who co-led Virginia’s ‘election integrity unit’ resigns from AG’s office (Virginia Mercury ([link removed]) )
* Judge schedules trial in lawsuit against Wisconsin's fake electors for weeks before 2024 presidential election (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ([link removed]) )


In the States
* Cameron’s dream of secrecy would be Kentucky’s nightmare (Forward Kentucky ([link removed]) )
* Air DeSantis: The private jets and secret donors flying him around (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis’ $13.5m police program lures officers with violent records to Florida (Guardian ([link removed]) )
* Texts tie DeSantis closely to Trump insider Lev Parnas in 2018 race (Reuters ([link removed]) )
* The Covid vaccine deniers and QAnon believers coming to speak at the Arizona legislature (Arizona Mirror ([link removed]) )
* Gianforte appoints right-wing conspiracy theorist to Humanities Montana Board (Daily Montanan ([link removed]) )
* How a powerful Texas lawmaker and his family made half a million for a few phone calls (Texas Monthly ([link removed]) )
* Texas Senate moves to create new immigration enforcement unit, allow state police to arrest for border crossings (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* North Carolina gerrymander ruling gives electoral gift to GOP in Congress (Associated Press ([link removed]) )


National News
* New data reveals deeper problems with Bureau of Prisons’ Covid response (Stat News ([link removed]) )
* Prosecutors sought records on Trump’s foreign business deals since 2017 (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump lawyers seek meeting with Garland over special counsel inquiries (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Supreme Court limits EPA’s power to address water pollution (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump workers moved Mar-a-Lago boxes a day before Justice Dept. came for documents (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* State lawmakers want children to fill labor shortages, even in bars and on school nights (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Mother of 8-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody says pleas for hospital care were denied (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Still in Mexico: New concerns in the wake of asylum restrictions (Source NM ([link removed]) )
* Harlan Crow refuses to cooperate with Dem senators’ Supreme Court probe (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Chief justice says Supreme Court is working to address ethics questions (New York Times ([link removed]) )


Attacks on Civil Rights
* Meet the influential new player on transgender health bills (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Missouri AG calls on KC police to enforce trans care ban that chief says outside jurisdiction (Kansas City Star ([link removed]) )
* Small, rural communities have become abortion access battlegrounds (Pennsylvania Capital-Star ([link removed]) )
* Judge blocks South Carolina abortion ban so state high court can review (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Threats to Education
* The fight for the soul of a school board (New Yorker ([link removed]) )
* Noem starts ‘whistleblower hotline’ for South Dakota universities (Keloland ([link removed]) )
* Ron DeSantis’ context-free history book vanished online. We got a copy. (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Objection to sexual, LGBTQ content propels spike in book challenges (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* New Florida rule requires school districts to track book challenges (Tampa Bay Times ([link removed]) )
* Florida mom behind Amanda Gorman book ban has Proud Boy links (Daily Beast ([link removed]) )
* Texas pushes church into state with bills on school chaplains, Ten Commandments (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Jan. 6 Investigations
* DC police lieutenant indicted on charge of tipping off Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio about arrest (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers leader, sentenced to 18 years in Jan. 6 case (New York Times ([link removed]) )

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