EXCLUSIVE: For years, local officials in Houston have been studying whether building giant tunnels under the city could ease the area's flooding woes.

Now, Elon Musk wants a piece of the project.

In my latest investigation with @propublica, the @HoustonChron's @ChengYilun and I teamed up to show how The Boring Company has tried to woo politicians behind closed doors for months to hand it a slice of the job — and millions in taxpayer money. #txlege We got internal emails, texts and memos that show Boring wants to charge $760M to build one piece of Houston's flood mitigation tunnel system — with 15% of up front out of the state and county budgets.

And Musk had a pitch man: Congressman Wesley Hunt. #txlege

NEW: The judge overseeing Texas AG Ken Paxton's divorce case has put it under seal, meaning the public won't be able to access the record.

We got all the documents filed before the case was sealed and have published them.

See this thread.

#txlege Some more info on this case:

Angela Paxton asked for the record to be sealed. Her lawyer argued this "will not have an adverse affect on the public health or safety, and the records do not involve matters that should be available to the general public."

#txlege

NEW: As part of my effort to track @ElonMusk's influence in the Texas Capitol, I asked for all of his emails with Gov. Greg Abbott for the last several months.

Abbott's office rejected my request, saying some of the records are too "intimate and embarrassing" to release. #txlege Specifically, the governor's lawyer argues that Abbott and Musk's emails are "intimate and embarrassing and not of legitimate concern to the public, including financial decisions that do not relate to transactions between an individual and a governmental body." [my emphasis]

#txlege #ElonMusk

NEW: Texas AG Ken Paxton and his blind trust own 10 properties in five states. This includes a luxury cabin for rent at $525/night, three homes in Florida and land in Hawaii.

But Paxton's disclosed just one to ethics regulators. Why the secrecy? #txlegekut.org/2024-09-18/tex… Last year, we reported Paxton was not disclosing all of his real estate holdings. He said he wasn't breaking the law but experts question that.

This year, Paxton is disclosing even less. Three homes he and his wife own are absent from state forms. #txlegekut.org/politics/2023-…

This week, the state of Texas spent four days in federal court defending the lack of A/C in state prisons.

Yesterday, the agency head testified. He pointed the finger at a funding problem.

I was there the whole time. Here’s my dispatch: #txlegekut.org/crime-justice/… State budget writers recently earmarked money for A/C for the first time. The agency head hopes to get more money next year — but could not guarantee it.

Prison officials also testified that they have to deal with the issues posed by a massive and aging system. #txlege

NEW: For the last few months, I've been looking through thousands of pages of Texas AG Ken Paxton impeachment documents not released during trial.

Among them I found sealed records from the federal grand jury investigation into Paxton.
#txlegekut.org/2024-05-23/don… The docs, which prosecutors said were turned over by the AG's Office, show the scope of the probe in 2021.

The feds at that time were looking into “several potential federal crimes" incl. obstruction of justice, retaliation against witnesses, bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy.

⚖️ Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial Week Two ⚖️

We could have a verdict on whether the state’s top lawyer will be removed from office by week’s end.

Follow the @dallasnews for wall-to-wall coverage. Preview with @PhilJankowski: #txlegedallasnews.com/news/politics/… Time remaining in the impeachment trial is 14 hour 28 mins for each side.

That means we may be done with this by Thursday, @DanPatrick notes. The jury "may have this in your hands late Thursday or early Friday."

Patrick says no days off until a decision. #txlege #PaxtonTrial

We're back on Dan Cogdell's cross examination of David Maxwell, the former top cop at the OAG.

Cogdell wants to know what crimes Nate Paul asked him to commit. Maxwell says he wanted them to investigate.

Cogdell: "If that's a crime I'm going to be on death row." #txlege Cogdell: Doesn't Paul's lawyer says he does NOT want to obstruct justice?

Maxwell: He does.

Here's some of that discussion from the transcript of this meeting: #txlege #PaxtonTrial documentcloud.org/documents/2391…

⚖️ Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial Day 4 ⚖️

The first week of the Texas Attorny general’s historic trial for alleged corruption wraps up today.

Preview of what we’re expecting here: #txlegedallasnews.com/news/politics/… We have gaveled back in for the fourth day of Ken Paxton's impeachment trial.

Ryan Vassar, a whistleblower who sued the agency after being fired, is back on the stand today. See what he said yesterday.

#txlege #PaxtonTrialdallasnews.com/news/politics/…

⚖️ Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial Day 3 ⚖️

Ryan Bangert, now a top attorney at the influential Christian legal org @ADFLegal, is expected to continue his testimony against the Texas Attorney General.

Preview here:
#txlegedallasnews.com/news/politics/… This morning, Paxton’s lead defense attorney (and a candidate for Houston city council) posted this on Instagram.

#txlege

Exclusive: In January, a prominent North Texas GOP lawmaker texted Ken Paxton's advisor with a warning.

"Folks are pissed."

Paxton's agency had just asked for $3.3M to settle a whistleblower lawsuit. The request would lead to his impeachment. #txlegedallasnews.com/news/politics/… Paxton's advisor balked. She told the lawmaker to approach the AG in one-on-one.

“The Christian thing to do is to ask what’s going on in Private,” she said.

The texts eventually devolved into veiled threats.
#txlege https://t.co/L8DSPZJwICdallasnews.com/news/politics/…

HAPPENING NOW: The Texas House is in session. They're slated to vote on Texas AG Ken Paxton's impeachment this afternoon.

You can watch here:
dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege The Texas House just adopted rules to govern the impeachment proceedings.

The gallery is absolutely packed. Speaker @DadePhelan is making a statement about decorum.
#txlege

The House ethics panel that accused Texas AG Ken Paxton of abuse of office earlier this week is slated to hold a meeting in 5 minutes.

I’ll be there covering it. Background:

dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege Chris Hilton with the @TXAG is demanding to be heard but they are not taking testimony. They went into executive session. #txlege

Short 🧵 1/ Texas AG Ken Paxton is floating the idea that he might get impeached.

With just a few days left in the 2023 Legislative session, what would that actually look like? I took a look at the steps here.

dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege 2/ The state Constitution gives the #txlege the power to impeach certain elected officials, including the attorney general.

To do so, a majority of House members would have to vote for impeachment. Then, the Senate would have to hold a trial.

dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege

Up now in Texas Senate: #SB1029 which would prohibit public $ for "provision or administration" of gender-affirming care for all ages of patients.

Would also make insurers "strictly liable" to pay for detransitions, and make it easier to sue doctors for malpractice. #txlege Sen @NathanForTexas asks: "If a patient comes in and requests a procedure, and the physician provides the procedure and does so competently, that physician is nevertheless liable to that patient for anything that follows that procedure?"

@SenBobHall: "That's it." #txlege

1/ Short 🧵 on anti-#drag efforts in Texas:

The Senate passed a bill this month that is pitched as a way to protect kids from explicit drag shows.

But legal experts said it would criminalize everything from dirty dancing to #LGBTQ Pride parades.
dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege 2/ The lawyers identified 4 areas of concern: The bill includes vague descriptions of new crimes, specifically targets people “exhibiting” as the opposite sex, is overly broad in its definitions of “sexually oriented” and lacks discussion of an alleged scofflaw's intent. #txlege

🧵1/ County jails have A/C. Animal shelters too.

But Texas doesn't require its prisons to have climate control.

In the past, the state hasn't kept indoor heat logs.

We @dallasnews obtained new data that exposes conditions behind bars.
dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege #FOIA The News obtained the indoor temperature logs at all Texas prisons, which the state only recently required them to begin keeping, through a public info request and analyzed them.

The data show indoor temperatures in 15 state-run lockups exceeded 100 degrees last summer. #txlege

Senate Bill 12 gets FINAL PASSAGE in the Texas Senate by vote of 20-11. It would criminalize drag shows or any other performances deemed overtly sexual if they're in front of or may be in front of minors.

Background: dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #TXLege #SB12 #LGBT #LGBTQ #dragqueen Senate Bill 1601, which would bar public money from libraries that host #drag shows, is up for final passage in the Texas Senate.

@SenRoyceWest, the only Democrat who voted for it yesterday, is asking Qs of the author. #txlege #SB1601

HAPPENING NOW: Senate takes up debate on bill to restrict, and at times criminalize, drag shows in Texas.

Background: dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege #LGBTQ #LGBT #SB12 Bill author @SenBryanHughes says his legislation is just about protecting children from "sexually explicit performances."

But, his bill would also make it a crime for a man presenting as a woman (and vice versa) to perform a "prurient" event "on public property."

#txlege #SB12

Senate Bill 14, the ban on medical treatments for transgender minors, is up for final passage in the Texas Senate.

Background here: dallasnews.com/news/politics/… #txlege #LGBT #LGBTQ Bill author @DonnaCampbellTX repeats her opening statement for this bill: "Children who are on puberty blockers and cross sex hormones need more counseling in love. They don't need blades and drugs."

#txlege #SB14 #LGBTQ #LGBTQ #trans #transgender

HAPPENING NOW: The Texas Senate is debating #SB14, which would ban certain medical treatments for transgender minors.

Last week it was amended to exempt current patients from the ban. Looks now that @DonnaCampbellTX is stripping that amendment. dallasnews.com/news/politics/…

#txlege @DonnaCampbellTX "The amendment was not discussed in committee, and there were so many questions that have been brought up since the amendment was put on that, out of respect for the body, we're going to just take it down," Campbell says.

@Menendez4Texas is balking at this change. #txlege #SB14