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Texas Attorney General Sues Self To Stop Self From Releasing Documents He Says Can't Be Released

from the ourobouros dept

Fri, Sep 18th 2015 11:19am — Tim Cushing

Don't mess with Texas. It's already a mess.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been in the news quite a bit lately. He tried to block the state from recognizing a common-law marriage between two women (who had been together for eight years), but had his efforts undone by a Travis County court.

Around this same time, a second convening of a grand jury managed to do what the first one couldn't: bring an indictment against Paxton for alleged financial fraud. Paxton apparently wasn't very forthcoming about what he stood to gain from the sale of $200,000 in Servergy stock to a couple of investors. The apparent sketchiness of Paxton's actions was compounded by an ongoing investigation of the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Now, he's in the middle of another conflict. Texas legislators aren't too happy that the state's Department of Public Safety keeps asking for money, but failing to provide many details on how it's being spent.

When the DPS in March this year asked for another $123 million to help "secure the border," state Rep. Cesar Blanco blasted the DPS for taking credit for work done by the federal government, and failing to back up its claims with data.

"The state has nothing to show for its money," Blanco, D-El Paso, told El Paso Times on March 30.

According to the DPS, it was partnering with Customs and Border Patrol on a "surge" effort to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The CBP, on the other hand, portrayed the so-called "partnership" as the DPS's attempt to do a little coattail-riding on an ongoing effort by the DHS agency. It claimed it had not participated in a joint effort with the state entity.

Two local newspapers started digging into the dubious claims the DPS was making to justify the need for more handouts. What they uncovered was some very dubious math.

"DPS merged Border Patrol's massive drug seizure statistics with its own to tout the operation's effectiveness," the American-Statesman reported in June, and when state lawmakers asked for "DPS-specific statistics," the DPS refused.

The newspaper continued digging for information, seeking receipts and other documents related to expenses racked up by scattered DPS agents sent ostensibly to "aid" the CBP in its border-securing efforts. The DPS apparently has no intention of handing over these records and has sued to keep them secret.

That's where things get really twisted. AG Ken Paxton has the final say on the release of public records by the DPS. To obtain an injunction, the DPS has to sue Paxton to prevent the release of documents. It has done so, claiming the usual stuff about "safety" and "terrorism."

Public records law requires the DPS to sue the attorney general if it wants to keep secret information the attorney general wants to release. It did sue him, on Tuesday, claiming the information could endanger state troopers' "physical safety" or create a "substantial threat of physical harm."

It also claims that the information is confidential because it involves "preventing, detecting, responding to, or investigating an act of terrorism or related criminal activity."

The DPS asked a Travis County judge to exempt it from disclosure under the "common-law physical safety exception" and the Homeland Security Act.

And the twist? Another conflict of interest.

The DPS is represented, oddly, by Attorney General Paxton.

So, Paxton is suing Paxton to prevent Paxton from releasing documents Paxton claims (by proxy) can't be released for safety/terrorism reasons. However, Paxton must obtain a favorable ruling from a judge to force himself not to release documents he possibly feels shouldn't be released in the first place. It all comes down to Paxton, who can press either side of the argument, depending on his personal feelings.

This won't be the first time Paxton has basically sued himself. Courthouse News Service covered a similarly incongruous legal filing back in February.

The Texas Department of Public Safety sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claiming DPS information about anti-terrorism operations in its school marshal program is exempt from disclosure, in Travis County Court.

And, as if everything couldn't get any more conflicting/interesting, the Texas House voted in April to move the authority for prosecuting corruption allegations against state officials from the county's Public Integrity Unit to the Department of Public Safety -- which is represented by an attorney general currently facing securities fraud charges.

It appears the left hand indeed knows what the right hand is doing, at least in terms of the DPS and its various interests. This normally would be a good thing, as government entities often seem to operate as free agents, rather than as complementary parts of a cohesive whole. But in this case, the guy who has the final say on document releases has to sue himself to override his own decisions. On top of that, should Paxton decide to participate in any more (allegedly) fraudulent behavior, he'll be doing so as the legal representative of the agency charged with charging him.

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Filed Under: border patrol, conflict of interest, department of public safety, dps, foia, ken paxton, lawsuits, money, texas, transparency

31 Comments

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Mason Wheeler (profile), 18 Sep 2015 @ 11:42am

Wow. Remember when The Mikado was just satire?

KO: Pooh-Bah, it seems that the festivities in connection with my approaching marriage must last a week. I should like to do it handsomely, and I want to consult you as to the amount ought to spend upon them.
POOH: Certainly. In which of my capacities? As First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Chamberlain, Attorney General, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Privy Purse, or Private Secretary?
KO: Suppose we say as Private Secretary.
POOH: Speaking as your Private Secretary, I should say that, as the city will have to pay for it, don't stint yourself, do it well.
KO: Exactly—as the city will have to pay for it. That is your advice.
POOH: As Private Secretary. Of course you will understand that, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, I am bound to see that due economy is observed.
KO: Oh! But you said just now "Don't stint yourself, do it well".
POOH: As Private Secretary.
KO: And now you say that due economy must be observed.
POOH: As Chancellor of the Exchequer.
KO: I see. Come over here, where the Chancellor can't hear us. (They cross the stage.) Now, as my Solicitor, how do you advise me to deal with this difficulty?
POOH: Oh, as your Solicitor, I should have no hesitation in saying "Chance it——"
KO: Thank you. (Shaking his hand.) I will.
POOH: If it were not that, as Lord Chief Justice, I am bound to see that the law isn't violated.
KO: I see. Come over here where the Chief Justice can't hear us. (They cross the stage.) Now, then, as First Lord of the Treasury?
POOH: Of course, as First Lord of the Treasury, I could propose a special vote that would cover all expenses, if it were not that, as Leader of the Opposition, it would be my duty to resist it, tooth and nail. Or, as Paymaster General, I could so cook the accounts that, as Lord High Auditor, I should never discover the fraud. But then, as Archbishop of Titipu, it would be my duty to denounce my dishonesty and give myself into my own custody as first Commissioner of Police.
KO: That's extremely awkward.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Sep 2015 @ 11:42am

SCENE: Standard courtroom
PAXTON (FACING LEFT): Your Honor, I move to dismiss this lawsuit on the grounds that my opponent is an utter imbecile.

PAXTON (FACING RIGHT): Your, Honor, I move to dismiss this motion on the grounds that my opponent has never satisfactorily answered the musical question, 'What Kind Of Fool Am I?'

JUDGE: Takes boots off bench, takes a swig of whiskey, and CLOSEUP: *FACEPALM*

END SECENE
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- Anonymous Coward, 18 Sep 2015 @ 8:23pm
  
  Re:
  JUDGE: Points finger at his head and rotates his finger around his ear in a cookoo gesture. Orders Paxton to be observed at local mental institution.
  
  BAILIFF: Secures Paxton in a straight jacket.
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dave blevins (profile), 18 Sep 2015 @ 11:44am

Texas
You can't make this stuff up !
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connermac725 (profile), 18 Sep 2015 @ 11:58am

Texas?
Texas is the new Florida
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- Chasis (profile), 20 Sep 2015 @ 4:13pm
  
  Re: Texas?
  No. Texas is the old Texas. Florida was the new Texass, remember when Fla got the bad rep, Bush whose pappy was from Texas was governor. The same Bush running for the Pres. primaries, BTW.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 22 Sep 2015 @ 2:18pm
  
  Re: Texas?
  They aren't the new Florida, but they should often be lumped in with Florida. Texas is Florida with less bugs and humidity, plus bbq. Still 100% of the crazy.
  
  And yes, I lived there.
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Whoever, 18 Sep 2015 @ 12:03pm

Should be immediately dismissed, right?
Courts are quick to find that there is no controversy when individuals sue the government to enforce their rights; since Paxton is both plaintiff and defendant in this case, there cannot possibly be a controversy.

So the court should immediately dismiss this, right?
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Baron von Robber, 18 Sep 2015 @ 12:04pm

As I read this article, the 'circus clown' music in my mind got louder and louder.
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- David, 18 Sep 2015 @ 12:46pm
  
  Re:
  You mean "Entry of the Gladiators"? As in "we who are about to die salute you"? Let's hope that this is indeed how it ends in court.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Baron von Robber, 18 Sep 2015 @ 12:49pm
    
    Re: Re:
    I was thinking "Barnum & Bailey" but your's works too! :)
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Baron von Robber, 18 Sep 2015 @ 12:51pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      bah "..yours.."
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 18 Sep 2015 @ 12:25pm

Sounds like Chris Christie creating a law and then later saying the law was Unconstitutional , I really despise dishonest lawyers as much as I do bad cops, this country is being destroyed from within by Law Enforcement and it's cronies.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Sep 2015 @ 12:43pm

This isn't so much a case of left hand and right hand, as it is the left glove purporting not to know what the left hand is doing.
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Personanongrata, 18 Sep 2015 @ 1:09pm

Citizen Oversight of Law Enforcement is a Must
Now, he's in the middle of another conflict. Texas legislators aren't too happy that the state's Department of Public Safety keeps asking for money, but failing to provide many details on how it's being spent.

Apparently the only thing the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) wants from the citizens of Texas is that their money is to be unquestioningly handed over to the state under the guise of taxation so DPS (etal) may spend it any way they please in secret.

These cretins are worse than criminals as they are fractions of Americans/Texans who hide their felonious ways behind the "law".

In a just world every last one of these tax-feeding turd stains would answer for their illegitimate actions while "working" with public monies/trust, especially the ringleader Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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Capt. Tripps, 18 Sep 2015 @ 3:06pm

Americas going to become a 3rd world country
Dysfunctional government; kleptocratic police; an education system that is run like a gulag; a growing surveillance state. Now, kangaroo court shenanigans.

I've lived long enough to see idiocracy come true. America is over.
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- Anonymous Coward, 18 Sep 2015 @ 3:29pm
  
  Re: Americas going to become a 3rd world country
  > I've lived long enough to see idiocracy come true. America is over.
  
  Au contraire... it's just getting started.
  
  It would be inconceivable to think that America is over.
  
  This is the period where it inures itself to poisoned politics.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Sep 2015 @ 8:49pm

I see this move being used by the guys at the USTR negotiating TPP or TTIP to stop themselves from releasing documents that they say they can't be released.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2015 @ 12:02am

sounds more like Paxton should be arrested and tried for treason
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 19 Sep 2015 @ 12:52am

We can't answer for why we did this because the terrorists will win.

Something something become what you are fighting against.

Government has become bigger terrorist than the 'real' terrorists.

Perhaps it is time to stop taking the fear pills they hand out and demand we go back to accountability, stop handing out passes for misbehavior, and if they are screw ups get rid of them.

Protip: The otherside isn't red or blue - its those with the power and they always win. Stop focusing on the hot buttons and ask yourself why we funnel billions to military contractors while we still have an infant mortality rate that is not good.
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toyotabedzrock (profile), 19 Sep 2015 @ 11:44pm

Seems like a great way to Telegraph a state wide corruption problem to the FBI.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2015 @ 1:36am

Go sue thyself
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Spaceman Spiff (profile), 20 Sep 2015 @ 8:41am

Yeah...
I think that it would be best for us if we let Texas secede from the USA. It would eliminate a lot of pain, and bad politicians!
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2015 @ 10:26am

Ah....Texas
Why does the stupid always seems to come from you? I know too much sun can make one irksome and maybe even dangerous when escaping the heat in a bar with your gun, get drunk and in open carry of course.

Maybe these central states that eternally voting red and the graphs I've seen of counties in the US who add toxic industrial waste to drinking water. And then I have to conclude, yes, sodium fluoride should not be added to the water, it passes straight into your mouth, doesn't do the same job as when you brush your teeth, like, not at all, it just goes through into your stomach, before you hit the bars, you probably had so much water from the heat, that maybe I can understand the stupid a little better.

But when it comes to what should be done about it, somebody in higher power in the government should say stop embarrassing us and quit your job while you're ahead, or we'll force you. There should be like Texas Oversight Act to have a special comittee overlooking Texas at all times in the Senate, maybe.
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GEMont, 20 Sep 2015 @ 2:28pm

Watching National Entropy in Real Time.
No matter how you slice it, and no matter that its the death throes of a nation.... the growth of fascism and the ways that people pretend its "not happening here" are endlessly fascinating to watch.

---
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Chasis (profile), 20 Sep 2015 @ 3:50pm

I wonder how he's asking in damages, when he wins/loses, and how much the state will have to pay?
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- Chasis (profile), 20 Sep 2015 @ 5:07pm
  
  Re:
  I wonder how *much*, rather.
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Violynne (profile), 21 Sep 2015 @ 3:10am

Texas again?

Time for a site name change: Texasdirt.
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Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 21 Sep 2015 @ 7:53am

Zero
Back to zero.
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Joe Downey, 23 Sep 2015 @ 7:37am

Texas Corrupt
The Bar is so corrupt They let their members commit Felonies and then protects them. If anyone here live in Rockwall County next time vote for anybody other than the sitting Court of Law Judge CORRUPT Judge
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Maria S Rey, 23 Sep 2015 @ 8:49am

Corrupt State Offucials
We have a Corrupt governor, a felon attorney general (they don't deserve capital letters) and now a corrupt state judge. When is all this shit gonna end???
You all are despicable trash!!
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