AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas appeals court last week ruled government watchdog group America Oversight can proceed with its lawsuit that seeks to obtain emails Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton may have sent or received around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

What You Need To Know

  • Texas' Third Court of Appeals on Jan. 17 ruled that a government watchdog's lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott can move forward

  • American Oversight is seeking emails Paxton may have sent or received around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol

  • It's also seeking correspondence Abbott and Paxton may have had with the National Rifle Association 

  • American Oversight called the court's decision "a tremendous victory for transparency in Texas"

The Third Court of Appeals in Austin denied Paxton’s bid to have the lawsuit tossed, upholding a trial court’s earlier ruling.

The lawsuit also seeks email communications between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Paxton and the National Rifle Association. Paxton and Abbott can appeal the decision to the Texas Supreme Court.

Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, appeared at an event in Washington on Jan. 6, where the attorney general gave a speech touting his failed legal push to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

American Oversight sued Paxton in June 2022, contending that he wrongly withheld communications about his appearance at the rally. The Washington-based nonprofit called the appeals court’s Jan. 17 decision a “tremendous victory.”

“Today’s ruling is a tremendous victory for transparency in Texas. The appeals court has confirmed that courts have authority to hold the state’s highest-ranking officials — the Governor and Attorney General — accountable under the Texas Public Information Act,” the group wrote on its website. “American Oversight is seeking records related to matters of significant public interest and the appeals court was correct to reject this effort to evade accountability.”

Several news organizations have requested Paxton’s communications from around Jan. 6 under the Texas Public Information Act. In March 2021, six news outlets jointly published a story raising questions about whether Paxton was breaking open records laws.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.