Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is looking for more dirty laundry from his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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Talarico filed a motion Wednesday to make public two depositions in which Paxton testified for a case involving an energy firm where he worked, according to a copy of the petition obtained by The Washington Post. The petition says Paxton’s testimony raises “substantial ethical questions” and Texans have the right to know what he said under oath.
“This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to hide [Talarico’s] own extremism and Texans will see right through it,” Paxton spokeswoman Madison Cercy said in a statement.
The depositions from 2019 and 2022 were part of a lawsuit against the managers of Unity Resources, an energy firm where Paxton once served as a board member and attorney.
During the 2019 deposition, Paxton revealed he had probably violated attorney-client privilege by sharing with his own lawyer information he obtained while he was Unity Resource’s attorney, the Wall Street Journal reported in April after viewing a copy of the deposition.
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Texas has not elected a Democrat for statewide office in more than 30 years, but polling has shown the race competitive. Talarico has leaned heavily into Paxton’s past legal and personal scandals to portray him as unfit for office in a bid to win over moderate Republican voters. Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) in the GOP primary after the incumbent warned Paxton would be weaker in a general election.
Unity Resources managers alleged Paxton sought revenge against them because they testified against him in a securities fraud case in which he was accused of duping friends into investing in a company without disclosing he had a stake in it.
Separately, Paxton faced a Justice Department corruption probe after his own staffers in the state attorney general’s office reported him to the FBI. Those allegations led to his impeachment in the Republican-controlled state House; he was acquitted by the state Senate.
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