Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico filed a motion Wednesday to unseal two depositions in which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton testified in a civil securities dispute, arguing that voters have the right to know what his Republican opponent said under oath before November’s election.
The depositions, from 2019 and 2022, stem from a lawsuit involving Unity Resources, an energy company where Paxton once served as a board member and attorney. According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, Paxton acknowledged in the 2019 deposition that he may have violated attorney-client privilege by sharing records from Unity — his former client — with his own lawyer, Mitch Little, who was representing another party in the dispute.
Talarico’s campaign filed the motion in Collin County court, arguing that the depositions “directly implicate Paxton’s fitness for office” and that Texans deserve access to them before casting their ballots. “The right of Texans to see these depositions matters more than ever,” the campaign’s lawyers wrote, citing the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on potential ethical violations.
The case centers on a complex legal tangle involving multiple parties. North Texas businessman Charles Loper III, who manages Paxton’s blind trust, accused Unity Resources managers Byron Cook and Joel Hochberg of defrauding him in a securities scheme. Cook and Hochberg countered that they were being targeted for revenge because they testified against Paxton in his own separate criminal securities fraud case — one in which he was indicted in 2015 for allegedly misleading investors into a company without disclosing his financial stake.
Federal prosecutors dropped charges against Paxton before trial in 2024 under a plea deal requiring him to pay restitution and take legal ethics courses. Paxton’s campaign spokesperson Nick Maddux called the Wall Street Journal’s reporting “blatant lies” and said the records Paxton shared were not privileged. Little told the Journal there was no conflict of interest.
The depositions have remained sealed for years while the civil case sat dormant under the oversight of Republican Judge Cynthia Wheless. The case was eventually settled in 2023. The rare instances in which Paxton has been forced to answer questions under oath stand out given his history of surviving multiple legal and ethical scandals without testifying, according to the Texas Tribune.
Paxton is running in what has become one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races. A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll released this week found Talarico leading 42 percent to 39 percent among registered voters. The race has shifted from lean Republican to toss-up status, according to Cook Political Report, as Texas and Iowa have emerged as key battlegrounds in the fight for Senate control.
Talarico has built his campaign heavily around Paxton’s legal troubles. In September 2023, the Republican-controlled Texas Senate acquitted Paxton on 16 articles of impeachment stemming from allegations that he abused his office and accepted bribes. The acquittal kept him in office as attorney general. Talarico’s strategy has been to remind voters of Paxton’s scandals in hopes of winning over moderate Republicans in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in more than 30 years.
Talarico’s campaign has also faced scrutiny, including over past comments on religion, but the candidate has leaned into portraying his opponent as ethically unfit. Whether the court will grant the motion to unseal Paxton’s depositions remains unclear, but the filing signals that Talarico intends to keep legal and ethical questions central to the race through Election Day.
Sources
- The Washington Post — reported Talarico’s motion to unseal depositions and details on Paxton’s potential attorney-client privilege violation
- The Texas Tribune — provided comprehensive details on the Unity Resources case, settlement history, and Paxton’s history of avoiding sworn testimony
- The Wall Street Journal — original reporting on Paxton’s 2019 deposition and alleged privilege violation
- University of Texas/Texas Politics Project — latest poll showing Talarico leading 42-39 percent
- AP News — confirmed details on the depositions and the civil case involving Unity Resources
- Texas Tribune — reported Paxton’s acquittal on 16 articles of impeachment in September 2023
