National Coalition of Attorneys General Files Amicus Brief Condemning Texas State Bar

Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton

AUSTIN, TEXAS (News Release) – A national coalition of state attorneys general filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of Texas in support of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s top deputy, First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, in a blatant case of politically motivated lawfare launched by the State Bar of Texas. The case originated in response to complaints against First Assistant Webster and Attorney General Paxton for their decision to file landmark litigation known as Texas v. Pennsylvania regarding the 2020 election. Attorney General Ken Paxton faces similar baseless allegations in a separate case.

The State Bar of Texas’s Commission for Lawyer Discipline attempted to censure Attorney General Paxton and First Assistant Attorney General Webster for taking action over genuine concerns of unconstitutional conduct by states during the 2020 election. In a move regarded as political retaliation, the Commission claimed that Texas made misrepresentations during the course of the lawsuit and initiated disciplinary action. The allegations were initially dismissed. The organization appealed and the case is now before the Supreme Court of Texas.

The brief explains: “The real question in this case… is whether courts will permit the politicization of the State Bars and weaponization of disciplinary rules against elected executive officers discharging their constitutional duties.… Moreover, there is an appreciable risk that this type of political activism will incentivize bar complaints made for the sole purpose of obstructing the ability of attorneys general and their staff to carry out their constitutional responsibilities. The weaponization of the attorney grievance process impedes the work of the people and frustrates the constitutional structure.”

“Thank you to my fellow attorneys general for siding with law and order,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The State Bar is using a disgraceful tactic: weaponizing politically-motivated lawfare to intimidate elected leaders and their staff from upholding the Constitution when it inconveniences their political agenda. This attempt to punish First Assistant Attorney General Webster and me for standing up for our country, our State, and our citizens will not succeed.”

To read the brief, click here.