Texas Republican Orders Raids Of Group Registering Latino Voters

 

Securities fraudster and bribe- taking (allegedly!) ultra- MAGAt Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is going after a Latino civil rights organization that's supporting Democratic get- out- the- vote efforts.

The nation's oldest Latino civil rights organization, LULAC, is one of several entities in Texas targeted in voter fraud raids led by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, CBS News has learned.

In a letter first obtained by CBS News, LULAC requested that the Justice Department investigate Paxton's office for Voting Rights Act violations. The organization is accusing Paxton's office of carrying out illegal searches premised on voter fraud. 

"These actions echo a troubling history of voter suppression and intimidation that has long targeted both Black and Latino communities, particularly in states like Texas, where demographic changes have increasingly shifted the political landscape," LULAC CEO Juan Proaño and the group's national president, Roman Palomares, said in the letter.

The Justice Department confirmed receipt of the letter and declined to comment further. (Ed. -- somebody wake up Merrick Garland!)

Last week, Paxton's office announced in a press release that it was launching undercover operations and an investigation into reports alleging some organizations in Texas are unlawfully registering noncitizens to vote, in violation of state and federal law. 

LULAC officials told CBS News that some of the group's Texas members were targeted and had their laptops and cell phones confiscated by Texas authorities executing search warrants. Some of the raids focused on Latino activists across the state. 

"Attorney General Paxton is using his position of authority to harass and intimidate Latino non-profit organizations like LULAC, Latino Leaders and LULAC members," Juan Proaño, LULAC's CEO told CBS News, calling the state AG's effort "point-blank" voter intimidation. "It is evident through his pattern of lawsuits, raids, searches, and seizures that he is trying to keep Latinos from voting."... (our emphasis)

Texas will one day be a purple, then a blue state, and everything voter intimidating and suppressing MAGAt Republicans like Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott are doing, in concert with their gerrymandered legislature and corrupt courts, is intended to delay that day for as long as they can.  For years, Paxton has been using bogus claims of "voter fraud" to justify voter intimidation tactics (whenever he's not in court defending himself against fraud and bribery charges).  It's long been a Republican thing to try to suppress the votes of Democratic constituencies, but it's been kicked up several notches in the autocratic Malignant Loser era because the stake have gotten higher with each election, and because it's Republicans, not Democrats, that have to cheat to win.

(Cartoon:  Steve Sack, Minneapolis Tribune (2021))

Kate Cox Leaves Texas For Life-Saving Abortion

The Christofascist forced- birthers ruling Texas Gilead have driven Kate Cox out of the state, where she will have to get a potentially life- saving abortion:

Kate Cox, a Dallas-area woman who petitioned a judge to get an abortion in Texas, has left the state for abortion care after a week of legal whiplash.

The Texas Supreme Court late Friday night temporarily blocked a lower-court ruling that would have allowed Cox to get an abortion under the state’s near-total abortion ban, and later on Monday night, reversed the lower court’s decision.

Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two, had sought an abortion after learning that her fetus had a fatal genetic condition and that carrying the pregnancy to term could jeopardize her future fertility. The case is the first instance of an adult pregnant woman asking a court for permission to terminate her pregnancy under an abortion ban since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.

Here's what the Republican Texas Supreme Court had to say:

“Any parent would be devastated to learn of their unborn child’s Trisomy 18 diagnosis,” the Texas Supreme Court wrote. “Some difficulties in pregnancy, however, even serious ones, do not pose the heightened risks to the mother the exception encompasses.”

Here's the professional advice these Republican rats- in- robes ignored:

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the leading professional association for OB/GYNs, emphasized the risks Cox faced in an amicus brief filed with the court on Monday.

“In addition to this devastating diagnosis, Ms. Cox is facing additional risk factors,” according to the group. “If Ms. Cox is forced to carry her pregnancy to term, her risk factors again intensify.”

If this case doesn't put the lie to claims that these are "pro- life" politicians, we don't know what would.

(Image:  Kate Cox and corrupt Texas AG Paxton)

 

Texas AG Interferes In Nonviable Pregnancy

A 31 year old Texas woman is the victim of Texas' medieval and cruel anti-abortion laws, as she tries to terminate a nonviable pregnancy. The woman, Kate Cox, petitioned the district court in Travis Co., Texas to issue a temporary restraining order to allow her to terminate the pregnancy, which threatens her life. The district court agreed, but Texas' vile and corrupt state Attorney General, Ken Paxton, decided to take the matter to the Texas Supreme Court, asking it to vacate the lower court order and apply penalties to Cox and any hospital that performed the emergency abortion. The Texas Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on Paxton's attempt to interfere in Ms. Cox's dangerous pregnancy.

This wanton cruelty was unleashed nationwide when the right-wing Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, permitting states like Texas, run by fanatical, reactionary forced birth hacks, to adopt laws forcing women to carry a fetus to term, often without regard to the woman's health or whether the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. Although the last two cycles of elections have proven that policy to be wildly unpopular among voters, die hard Christofascists refuse to get the message.

Earlier this year, hardline Trumpist Paxton narrowly escaped impeachment by members of his own party in the Republican-controlled legislature in Texas over his corruption in office, but when Christofascists think they're doing the Lord's work, they'll take any charlatan and crook into their fold.

(photo: Forced birther Paxton and Ms. Cox. KWTX)

 

Texas Extremist AG Paxton Impeached

Texas' corrupt, right-wing extremist Attorney General Ken Paxton (Sedition-Trumpland) was impeached yesterday by the overwhelming margin of 121-23 in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The House followed the report of an investigative committee that showed evidence the Paxton abused his office, along with allegations of bribery and favoritism for sexual favors. The 20 articles of impeachment can be found here.

What makes the impeachment vote interesting is the the Malignant Loser made a last minute appeal on behalf of his cult member Paxton, only to be rejected by dozens of Republican legislators. Paxton led the effort to fight the 2020 election results in four other states on behalf of the Malignant Loser. It also exposes a rift in the Texas Republican Party, with 60 Republican state representatives, including the Speaker, voting to impeach Paxton. As in the case of Federal impeachments, the Republican-controlled Texas Senate will conduct a trial of Paxton based on the 20 articles of impeachment. Meanwhile, Paxton is suspended from his duties as Attorney General.

His record as a right-wing extremist is well known, as the article notes:

"Saturday’s vote temporarily removes a controversial but influential Republican figure in Texas and nationally. He has led an office that initiated lawsuits that overturned or blocked major Biden and Obama administration policies, particularly on immigration; sought to reverse Trump’s electoral defeat in 2020; aggressively pursued voter fraud claims; and targeted hospitals that provided gender care to minors."

Paxton was one of the speakers at the Malignant Loser's coup attempt on January 6, and when you add obstruction of gun control measures and pursuit of the Christofascist culture war and you have an accurate picture of this crooked fascist.

(photo: Felony loves company. Brandon Bell, Getty Images)

 

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

In an interview aired this weekend, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Democratic Party and its supporters need to rally and organize with "ferocity" to combat the "ruthlessness" of the Republican Party. 

Newsom made the comments on a July 16 episode of "The Issue Is," a show hosted on Fox LA by anchor Elex Michaelson. He was responding to a question about what more the party could do to support President Joe Biden if he were to run in 2024. 

"You have to also recognize what you're up against, and right now, we're up against the ruthlessness of the Republican Party," Newsom said. 

"That's not a cheap shot. You see what's happening to all the progress we've made in the 21st century, all of the rights that we in many ways have taken for granted that had been afforded since the 60s, are being rolled back in real-time," Newsom said. "This is a totally different moment."

He added that the Democratic Party must "wake up with a different mindset" that goes beyond being collaborative. 

"That's where the party comes in. The Democrats need the Democratic Party — not the president, not the speaker — the party, the infrastructure, I think, has to organize with more ferocity of focus, more determination to set the agenda, set the course, and put the other party on the defense," Newsom said.

"The facts aren't on their side, but they're dominating the narrative," he added, referring to the GOP. "And in this world right now, you dominate the narrative, you win. And that's what I'm worried about." 

The bad:

The most exhaustive report yet on the May 24 mass shooting inside a Uvalde, Tex., elementary school spread blame across every law enforcement agency responding to the attack, faulting local police for mistakes and more experienced agencies for failing to take charge.

Nearly 400 local, state and federal law enforcement officers were at the scene that day, including 91 state troopers — none of whom moved to lead the response, the Texas House investigative report said. The school district police chief, Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, wrote its active-shooter response plan and assigned himself as incident commander but did not follow the protocol he had set up, the report said.

The report said it was not clear whether lives could have been saved with a swifter response, but it left open the possibility.

“The void of leadership could have contributed to the loss of life as injured victims waited over an hour for help, and the attacker continued to sporadically fire his weapon,” the 77-page report says.

Rather than isolate blame on Arredondo, as Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven C. McCraw had after the shooting, the report casts a broader net of responsibility over “the entirety of law enforcement … on that tragic day.” That included DPS officers.

“Hundreds of responders from numerous law enforcement agencies — many of whom were better trained and better equipped than the school district police — quickly arrived on the scene,” the report says. “Those other responders, who also had training on active shooter response and the interrelation of law enforcement agencies, could have helped to address the unfolding chaos. Yet in this crisis, no responder seized the initiative.”

The ugly:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued the Biden administration over federal rules that require abortions be provided in medical emergencies to save the life of the mother, even in states with near-total bans.

“The Biden Administration seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic,” Paxton said in a statement announcing the lawsuit on Thursday.

The suit follows new guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services that asserted federal law requiring emergency medical treatment supersedes any state restrictions on abortion in cases where the pregnant patient’s life or health is at risk.

Earlier this week, the Biden administration sent a memo to state officials reminding them of an existing law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which “requires that all patients receive an appropriate medical screening examination, stabilizing treatment, and transfer, if necessary,” according to the HHS guidance. That requirement exists “irrespective of any state laws or mandates that apply to specific procedures,” the memo said.

Speaking of Republican ruthlessness, apparently sociopath Paxton won't be satisfied until he reaches full psychopath status.  Paxton, you may recall,  was indicted long ago on felony fraud charges which he's been appealing on procedural grounds for nearly six years in order to delay justice.  He's as rotten and ruthless as they come.

Republican Crime Blotter - Straight But Crooked Edition, Cont.

As we noted last month, Texas Republican Attorney General Ken "Doll" Paxton has been under investigation by the Texas  Rangers for securities fraud.  Well, seems the scourge of environmentalists, Messican immigrants and Teh Gayz has been indicted by a grand jury on three felony counts:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has been indicted by a grand jury, multiple outlets reported on Saturday.

The indictments were handed down on Tuesday and will be unsealed Monday. Paxton faces three felony charges: two counts of first-degree securities fraud and a third-degree charge of failing to register with the state securities board, The New York Times reported.

Paxton's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Paxton is accused of misleading and encouraging investors to put over $600,000 in a technology company without disclosing that he received a fee on their investment and while serving in the Texas House of Representatives, The New York Times reported.  [snip]

Paxton has sued the Obama administration multiple times on issues such as immigration, the environment and benefits for same-sex couples.

In related Texas Republican crime news, former Gov. Rick "Oops" Perry is still facing a felony abuse of power charge, which leads one to wonder, what kind of yahoos vote these ethically- challenged shysters  into office over and over?  (Rhetorical question - we already know.)

(Photo:  That's Paxton's (s)mug shot.)

Republican Crime Blotter - Straight But Crooked Edition

Texas(s) teabagger Republican Attorney General Ken "Doll" Paxton was in the news last week after the Supreme Court issued its ruling allowing same-sex marriage nationwide, saying the First Amendment “may allow accommodation of [county clerks’] religious objections to issuing same-sex marriage licenses.”  (Um, no, now that the Fifth Circuit has directed court clerks in Texas and other states under its jurisdiction to issue those licenses.  But nice try, Ken "Doll.")

Now, however, Constitushunal skolar Ken "Doll" may want to brush up on the Fifth Amendment:

A special prosecutor said Wednesday that he’ll ask a Collin County grand jury to indict Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on first-degree felony charges of violating state securities law.

Kent Schaffer, a Houston defense attorney, said a Texas Rangers investigation of Paxton revealed that the attorney general broke laws beyond what he admitted last year, when he was fined $1,000 by the State Securities Board.

“That’s what we intend to present to the grand jury,” said Schaffer, when asked whether Paxton committed a first-degree felony. “We have a sufficient amount of evidence. Whether it leads to a criminal indictment or not is up to the grand jury.” [snip]

Paxton, a Republican, took office in January after riding a surge of tea party support to victory in last fall’s election.

Last year during his campaign, Paxton admitted to the Texas State Securities Board that while he was in the Legislature, he solicited clients for a friend’s investment firm without being registered with the state. He paid a $1,000 fine and was reprimanded by the board.  (our emphasis)

As the article points out, it's up to the grand jury to indict, and Ken "Doll"'s lawyers can be expected to employ every legal trick in the book to forestall an indictment, or at the very least, drag the proceedings out.  But you notice how it's getting to be almost de rigeur for these far-right pols to have ethical or legal problems?  Must be in their political DNA.