James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, wants to reveal depositions involving Ken Paxton, his Republican opponent, as part of an ongoing effort to keep the focus on Paxton's history of scandals.
The depositions involve a civil case where Unity Resources, a mineral assets company, was accused of fraud. Paxton was connected to Unity but not a defendant, and the case was settled.
Talarico's campaign confirmed it asked a court on Wednesday to release the documents.
The Democratic state representative is counting on voters recoiling from past accusations against Paxton, the Texas attorney general, even though similar tactics have failed in previous campaigns.
In addition to seeking the depositions, Talarico recently resurfaced video of Paxton pocketing an expensive pen at a courthouse security checkpoint. Talarico also has talked about how Paxton was impeached, although Paxton was later acquitted, and how he faced criminal charges for securities fraud, which ended with an agreement with prosecutors involving restitution payments but no admission of guilt.
Paxton has repeatedly denied allegations against him and, much like his supporter President Donald Trump, calls them politically motivated smears. It is an approach that has worked over the years, including when Paxton defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in this year's Republican primary.
Madison Cercy, a spokesperson for Paxton's campaign, said Talarico's request to the court “is nothing more than a desperate attempt to hide his own extremism and Texans will see right through it,” adding that "he's now lying at every turn.”
The Wall Street Journal previously reported the contents of one deposition, including that Paxton had possibly violated attorney-client privilege. That was disputed by those involved. The Journal also reported that Paxton said he could not recall the answer to a question about 90 times during the deposition.
In a draft of the court filing, lawyers for Talarico's campaign argued there is “no basis under Texas law or procedure to withhold them from the public. Keeping them secret violates Texas’s constitutional guarantee that judicial proceedings be free and open to public scrutiny.”
