Talarico wants to unearth Paxton’s depositions to keep focus on opponent’s past in Texas Senate race

James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, aims to disclose depositions involving his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, as part of his strategy to focus on Paxton's past scandals. These depositions are related to a civil case where Unity Resources, a mineral assets company, was accused of fraud. Paxton was associated with Unity but was not a defendant in the case, which was subsequently settled.

Talarico's campaign plans to request the court to release these documents on Wednesday, hoping to sway voters with the memory of Paxton's past legal troubles. In addition to seeking the depositions, Talarico has also shared videos of Paxton pocketing an expensive pen at a courthouse security checkpoint and discussed Paxton's impeachment (which was later overturned) and criminal charges for securities fraud, which were later resolved without admitting guilt.

Paxton has consistently denied these allegations, calling them politically motivated smears. This approach has proven effective in the past, as Paxton defeated incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary. According to the Wall Street Journal, one deposition revealed that Paxton may have violated attorney-client privilege, a claim disputed by those involved.

Paxton claimed he could not recall answering a question 90 times during the deposition. Talarico's campaign argues that withholding these depositions violates Texas's constitutional right to open judicial proceedings. Lawyers for Talarico's campaign assert there is "no basis under Texas law or procedure to withhold them from the public," emphasizing that keeping them secret goes against the principle of free and open judicial proceedings.