Bush said legal problems made Paxton unfit for office and could jeopardize the important seat for Republicans in November. And he increasingly attacked Paxton for an even more personal issue: an alleged extramarital affair he had related to the FBI investigation. Republican voters have already given Paxton a pass for his legal troubles when he was re-elected in 2018 without drawing a single main opponent. At that time, its greatest weakness was the case of securities fraud. The consultants said Paxton tried to get state employees to hand over government documents to Paul that should have remained confidential, and that he issued a legal opinion that helped him avoid seizures on several of his properties during the pandemic. He also allegedly intervened in a legal battle between Paul and an Austin-based charity and hired an outside lawyer to look into Paul`s allegations that he was abused during an FBI raid on his property in 2019, complaints that Paxton`s associates had already reviewed and dismissed. In exchange for all this, aides claim that Paxton got Paul`s help to renovate a house and find a job for Paxton`s alleged lover. At the meeting of conservative Bulverde Spring branch Republicans, who supported Paxton, supporters said they had supported Paxton since the beginning of the primaries, had given little thought to alternatives, and cared more about his job performance than his personal legal problems. Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Clean Power Plan, which represents President Obama`s administration`s “efforts to address climate change by moving away from coal-fired power toward cleaner-burning natural gas and renewables.” [59] Paxton said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is trying to “force Texas to change the way we regulate energy production” through an “unprecedented expansion of federal agencies.” [59] The Clean Power Plan would require Texas to reduce an average of 51 million tons of emissions per year, a 21% decrease from 2012. Paxton says the necessary cuts would cost the state jobs, raise electricity costs and jeopardize the reliability of the power grid. Paxton says there is no evidence that the plan will mitigate climate change, which directly contradicts EPA studies that have shown the regulations will reduce carbon pollution by 870 million tons in 2030.
[60] He further submits that the EPO does not have the legal authority to draft state policy. [61] In 2017, Paxton, along with thirteen other attorneys general, filed a court friend brief defending Trump`s first and second orders on travel and immigration primarily from Muslim-majority countries (informally referred to as the “Muslim ban”). In documents filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Paxton Supreme Court has argued that the order — which imposes a 90-day ban on issuing visas for travel from six Muslim-majority countries, imposes a 120-day ban on accepting refugees into the United States and limits the annual admission of refugees to 50,000 people — is constitutionally and legally valid. [55] [56] More:Paxton focused on illegal immigration during his re-election. Garza promotes a different vision of the border. On March 17, 2022, Paxton posted a message on Twitter calling for U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Rachel Levine to be a trans woman, a man. Twitter flagged the tweet for violating its code of conduct, but did not remove the post. [85] The next day, Paxton tweeted a statement in which he again referred to Levine as a man and said he was exploring “legal avenues” against Twitter.
[86] Paxton is involved in a legal challenge to a Ministry of Labour regulation requiring employers to report any “act, conduct or communication” undertaken to “influence an employee`s decisions regarding his or her rights to representation or collective bargaining.” [68] The new regulation, known as the “persuasion rule,” came into force in April 2016. Opponents of the so-called rule will prevent employers from talking about labour issues or seeking legal advice. In June 2016, a federal judge issued an injunction against the rule. Paxton called the injunction “a victory to preserve the sanctity of solicitor-client confidentiality.” [69] In 2020, four of the former members of the Texas Attorney General`s Office sued the Attorney General`s Office, claiming Paxton fired them for reporting wrongdoing to law enforcement, a form of unlawful retaliation under the state`s whistleblower law. In 2021, the district court dismissed Paxton`s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. [196] [197] Paxton`s office appealed, arguing that the Whistleblower Act did not apply to Paxton`s allegations of misconduct as an elected law enforcement officer and that, as an elected official, he should have the power to control his senior lieutenants, who were senior political commissioners. [198] [199] In October 2021, the Texas Third Court of Appeals rejected Paxton`s request to dismiss the case and upheld the trial court`s order. [200] [201] This is a key word in Paxton`s campaign, which distributes literature touting his support for Trump — along with a screenshot of the July 2021 statement — that Paxton “defends and wins Texas,” emphasizing the last two words. The literature states that Paxton “sued the Biden administration more than 25 times on issues such as illegal immigration and mask/vaccination mandates and bought more than 90 percent of the time.” A Houston Chronicle analysis published last month found that Paxton`s win rate is “closer to 71 percent, including cases where judges have temporarily blocked President Joe Biden`s policies, but a final resolution is still pending.” Paxton`s attacks on the court have raised concerns. With legal experts, but he did not apologize Monday night, suggesting that the court deliberately wait two days after the primary filing deadline to issue its opinion to avoid political setbacks.
But three Republicans, sensing the incumbent`s vulnerability, targeted Paxton in this year`s primaries, arguing that his legal position should discourage him from continuing to serve as the state`s top legal official. GOP voters disagreed and supported Paxton as he underscored his steady stream of lawsuits against Biden`s policies and his work against abortion, transgender rights and other liberal issues.