Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton moved on Monday to make a New York official comply with his efforts to crack down on the illegal shipping of abortion pills into the Lone Star State.
Paxton <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-takes-legal-action-against-new-york-county-clerk-stopping-radical">filed</a> a legal petition against Acting County Clerk for Ulster County Taylor Bruck for not allowing him to enforce a legal judgement against a New York-based abortionist accused of sending pills into Texas in violation of state law. Earlier this year, the abortionist, Margaret Carpenter, was <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Carpenter%20Final%20Judgment%20Signed.pdf">handed</a> down a $100,000 penalty by a Texas judge for violating the law, but local New York officials have so far blocked the collection of the fine.
“Dr. Carpenter is a radical abortionist who must face justice, not get legal protection from New York liberals intent on ending the lives of as many unborn children as they can,” Paxton said. “No matter where they reside, pro-abortion extremists who send drugs designed to kill the unborn into Texas will face the full force of our state’s pro-life laws.”
Paxton is seeking a writ of mandamus against Bruck to force him to comply with the collection of the penalty and the suit against Carpenter.
New York has implemented a “shield law” to protect abortionists from being prosecuted by out-of-state authorities.
“While pending litigation limits what I can share, I want to make clear that it is an honor to serve Ulster County in this role, and I am especially grateful to do so at such a critical moment for our county, our state, and the protection of fundamental rights under New York law,” Bruck <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/news/article/ken-paxton-taylor-bruck-legal-action-abortion-20789661.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com">told</a> the Times Union.
The case first began in December 2024 when Paxton sued Carpenter for allegedly sending abortion drugs to a Collin County woman that landed her in the hospital and ended the life of her unborn son. In February, a Collin County judge found that Carpenter had violated Texas law after she failed to appear in court to defend herself. The judge also handed down a $100,000 penalty.
Carpenter has also been indicted in Louisiana on charges of criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs. Carpenter is accused of mailing abortion drugs to a woman in Louisiana who then pressured her underage daughter into taking them and ending the life of her unborn child.

Trump Signs Executive Order Intending To Abolish Education Department

Ken Paxton Challenges New York Official Claiming ‘Shield Law’ Protects Mail-Order Abortion

Abortion

Crime

Ken Paxton

New York

Texas

U.S.

A Texas program offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants ended Wednesday after the Trump administration sued the state saying that the initiative violated federal law. 
The suit from the Justice Department challenged Texas law that allowed illegal immigrants to be eligible for in-state tuition while denying the same opportunities for American citizens. The challenge was resolved the same day after a federal judge approved a joint motion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Justice Department to rule the law unconstitutional.
“Today, I entered a joint motion along with the Trump Administration opposing a law that unconstitutionally and unlawfully gave benefits to illegal aliens that were not available to American citizens,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas.”
The <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Joint%20Motion%20for%20Entry%20of%20Consent%20Judgment.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joint motion</a> asked the judge to rule that the tuition provision of Texas law applying to illegal immigrants violated the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and issue a permanent injunction blocking application of the law.
“In direct and express conflict with federal law, Texas education law specifically allows an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States to qualify for in-state tuition based on residence within the state, while explicitly denying resident-based tuition rates to U.S. citizens that do not qualify as Texas residents,” Paxton and the DOJ wrote in their motion.
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Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/In%20State%20Tuition%20Final%20Judgment.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed off</a> on the motion just hours after it was filed, granting a permanent injunction against the provision.
“In-state tuition for illegal immigrants in Texas has ended,” Governor Greg Abbott said. “Texas is permanently enjoined from providing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.”
The provision giving illegal immigrants access to in-state tuition was <a href="https://lrl.texas.gov/legis/billsearch/actions.cfm?legSession=77-0&amp;billtypeDetail=HB&amp;billNumberDetail=1403&amp;billSuffixDetail=">first passed</a> back in 2001 and signed by then-Governor Rick Perry.
In an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-communities-from-criminal-aliens/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> signed in March, President Donald Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to “identify and take appropriate action to stop the enforcement of State and local laws, regulations, policies, and practices favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens that are unlawful, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable, including State laws that provide in-State higher education tuition to aliens but not to out-of-State American citizens.”

President Trump Swears In Steve Witkoff As Special Envoy

Texas Ends Benefit Program For Illegal Immigrants After Justice Department Suit

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

Education

Greg Abbott

Illegal Immigration

Pam Bondi

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that he will challenge Senator John Cornyn in 2026, citing the Texas Republican’s frequent opposition to President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Paxton made the announcement during an appearance on Fox News&#8217; “The Ingraham Angle,&#8221; telling host Laura Ingraham that &#8220;it&#8217;s definitely time for a change in Texas.&#8221;
&#8220;We have a great U.S. Senator, Ted Cruz, and it&#8217;s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas, and also support Donald Trump in the areas he&#8217;s focused on, in a very significant way,&#8221; Paxton said. &#8220;That&#8217;s what I plan on doing.&#8221;
Paxton told Ingraham it was &#8220;hard to think of the things&#8221; Cornyn has &#8220;done good for Texas or for the country,&#8221; slamming the senator for &#8220;things like his gun restrictions, his lack of wanting to fund a border wall, and even opposing President Trump&#8217;s election in 2016 and in the most recent election.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s certainly many things to focus on that he has not done,&#8221; Paxton added, &#8220;and I think it&#8217;s time that somebody held him accountable for that.&#8221;
The attorney general also railed against Cornyn in a statement announcing his run, in which he pledged to “take a sledgehammer to the D.C. establishment.”
“John Cornyn has been in Washington for over two decades, and he has turned his back on President Trump and the America First Agenda time after time.”
“Texans deserve far better than a senator who thinks it’s ‘naive’ to build a border to protect our citizens,&#8221; Paxton said.
Paxton, who has served three terms as attorney general, has frequently criticized Cornyn. In a March interview with Punchbowl News, Paxton <a href="https://punchbowl.news/article/senate/paxton-plots-to-take-on-cornyn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slammed</a> Cornyn for pushing gun control legislation and supporting American aid to Ukraine.
“I’m going to start calling him ‘Senator Ukraine,’ because he’s funding Ukraine more than he’s funding our border, and that’s a problem in Texas,” Paxton said.
Paxton has emerged as a leading voice on major issues, using his office to protect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-texas-ag-investigating-school-officials-who-said-theyd-break-the-law?row=0&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;author=Tim+Rice&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Texas+AG+Launches+Probe+Into+Schools+Scheming+To+Get+Boys+Onto+Girl+Sports+Teams&amp;category=News">women&#8217;s sports,</a> defending Texas A&amp;M&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-texas-ag-to-defend-texas-am-over-decision-to-ban-campus-drag-shows?row=0&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Texas+AG+To+Defend+Texas+A%26M+Over+Decision+To+Ban+Campus+Drag+Shows&amp;category=News">decision</a> to ban a campus drag show, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-arrests-48-year-old-woman-for-performing-illegal-abortions-operating-fake-clinics?row=0&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;title=Texas+Arrests+48-Year-Old+Woman+For+Performing+Illegal+Abortions%2C+Operating+Fake+Clinics&amp;category=News">prosecuting</a> a woman who performed illegal abortions.
Cornyn, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-thune-elected-senate-majority-leader?row=0&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;author=Tim+Pearce&amp;title=John+Thune+Elected+Senate+Majority+Leader&amp;category=News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost</a> the race to succeed Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader, is <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/12NQYwfF1_c06LvP2Imx-54dTMjXJxrI2sz7MujKphFg/edit?tab=t.0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serving</a> his fourth term in the upper chamber. A mainstay in Republican politics, he previously served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and as Senate Majority Whip.
Senate Republican leaders have <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/06/politics/cornyn-texas-senate-primary/index.html">reportedly asked</a> Trump to endorse Cornyn to put a stop to what could be a costly and high-profile primary. Speaking to CNN&#8217;s Manu Raju, Cornyn demurred on the question of Trump&#8217;s endorsement, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/06/politics/video/sen-john-cornyn-gop-texas-primary-donald-trump-manu-raju-digvid">noting</a> that &#8220;his endorsement will be important&#8221; and saying Trump will &#8220;make an endorsement when he&#8217;s ready.&#8221; Cornyn also said that he and the president have &#8220;a very good relationship.&#8221;
But it&#8217;s unclear if Trump — who once <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/20/donald-trump-ken-paxton-attorney-general/">floated</a> the idea of tapping Paxton as U.S. Attorney General — would back Cornyn, whom the president <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4120760-trump-rips-weak-ineffective-cornyn-romney/">once called</a> &#8220;weak [and] ineffective.&#8221;
A recent poll found that Paxton leads Cornyn by 20 points, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/us/politics/paxton-cornyn-senate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this month.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Will Challenge Senator John Cornyn

John Cornyn

Senate

A federal judge on Monday ruled that the University of Texas A&amp;M cannot ban drag performances on its campuses following a lawsuit from an LGBT activist group.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal said that the decision from the university&#8217;s board of regents likely violated the First Amendment and blocked the ban while the case played out in court. The Texas A&amp;M Board of Regents was sued earlier this month by the Queer Empowerment Council which claimed the ban on drag performances in university spaces was unconstitutional.
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&#8220;The Board, and some members of the A&amp;M community, are offended by the Draggieland performance. To ban the performance from taking place on campus because it offends some members of the campus community is precisely what the First Amendment prohibits,&#8221; Rosenthal <a href="https://www.thefire.org/sites/default/files/2025/03/Opinion%20-%20Texas%20A%26M%20Queer%20Empowerment%20Council%20v.%20Mahomes%2C%20et%20al..pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
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As part of its justification for the prohibition, the board <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-texas-ag-to-defend-texas-am-over-decision-to-ban-campus-drag-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed</a> to an executive order from President Donald Trump that directs federal funding to be cut from entities that promote gender ideology and a directive from Governor Greg Abbott to comply with the order.
The board said that “both the System and the Universities receive significant federal funding, the use of facilities at the Universities for Drag Show Events may be considered promotion of gender ideology in violation of the Executive Order and the Governor’s directive.”
Rosenthal said she was unconvinced by this argument.
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&#8220;The Board has failed to show that permitting drag shows to occur at Special Event Venues would cause the harassment of female students, much less the type of severe and pervasive harassment that violates Title IX,&#8221; the judge wrote. &#8220;Nor does the Board point to evidence in the record showing that President Trump’s executive order regarding &#8216;biological truth&#8217; specifically refers or applies to drag shows, or that the Draggieland message denies the existence of the male and female sexes.&#8221;
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is representing the board of regents, said that taxpayer-funded schools have no obligation to host drag shows.
“Our colleges and universities exist to help students learn and equip them as they take their next steps in life,” Paxton told The Daily Wire earlier this month. “They are not, and have never been, a place for taxpayer-funded drag shows where men pretending to be women engage in obscene, offensive, and degrading behavior.”
The judge&#8217;s ruling will mean that the university will be forced to host a drag festival called  “Draggieland&#8221; on March 27.
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Protest over the cancellation of Draggieland and other drag shows on Texas A&M campus

Federal Judge Says Texas A&M Has To Host Drag Show Festival

Courts

Drag show

LGBT

Texas A&amp;M

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that a 48-year-old Houston woman had been arrested for allegedly performing illegal abortions. 
Paxton <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-announces-arrest-houston-area-abortionist-and-crackdown-clinics">said</a> that Maria Margarita Rojas was providing illegal abortions in the Northwest Houston area and was operating a network of illegal clinics. Rojas was charged with one count of performing an illegal abortion and practicing medicine without a license. 
“In Texas, life is sacred. I will always do everything in my power to protect the unborn, defend our state’s pro-life laws, and work to ensure that unlicensed individuals endangering the lives of women by performing illegal abortions are fully prosecuted,” Paxton said. “Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable.”
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In Texas, life is sacred. I will always do everything in my power to protect the unborn, defend our state’s pro-life laws, and work to ensure that unlicensed individuals endangering the lives of women by performing illegal abortions are fully prosecuted. 
Texas law protecting… <a href="https://t.co/xZ7QHpxbPn">pic.twitter.com/xZ7QHpxbPn</a>
&mdash; Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) <a href="https://twitter.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/1901705532165280078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Paxton said that an investigation from his Law Enforcement Division found that Rojas operated multiple clinics in the Houston area including Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring. These clinics were allegedly operated by individuals who pretended to be medical professionals without licenses. 
According to Paxton, Rojas performed illegal abortions at these clinics in violation of Texas’ Human Life Protection Act. Paxton said the case was referred to him by Waller County District Attorney Sean Whittmore. 
Rojas could face a penalty of at least $100,000 if found guilty of performing an illegal abortion. 
Paxton’s actions were praised by pro-life groups, like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
“Abortion activists’ reckless, criminal disregard for women’s lives and unborn life is on full display,” <a href="https://sbaprolife.org/newsroom/press-releases/ag-paxton-arrests-illegal-abortionist-takes-strong-action-to-protect-texas-mothers-babies">said</a> SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. &#8220;We thank Attorney General Paxton for his strong leadership to put a stop to this brutality, including taking on sellers of dangerous abortion drugs across state lines, and hope others will follow his example.”
Paxton previously <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-stops-radical-abortionist-unlawfully-supplying-dangerous-drugs-kill#:~:text=Attorney%20General%20Ken%20Paxton%20has,in%20violation%20of%20state%20law.">secured</a> a $100,000 penalty and permanent injunction against a New York abortionist he had sued for allegedly sending abortion pills into Texas in violation of state law.

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Expedited Challenges Over Texas Abortion Ban

Texas Arrests 48-Year-Old Woman For Performing Illegal Abortions, Operating Fake Clinics

Houston

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will defend Texas A&amp;M in court after it was sued over a decision to ban drag performances on its campuses, The Daily Wire learned Friday. 
The Board of Regents for Texas A&amp;M was sued earlier this month by a student group called the Queer Empowerment Council, which alleged that the board&#8217;s February decision to no longer sanction drag shows on campus is a violation of the First Amendment. Paxton said Friday that the publicly-funded university system had no obligation to host “obscene” drag shows, and that he would be representing the board. 
“Our colleges and universities exist to help students learn and equip them as they take their next steps in life,&#8221; Paxton told The Daily Wire. &#8220;They are not, and have never been, a place for taxpayer-funded drag shows where men pretending to be women engage in obscene, offensive, and degrading behavior.&#8221;
“Texans’ tax dollars should not fund or be used for vulgar assaults on our values, which is why I’m defending the Board’s ban on these shows against frivolous lawsuits launched by left-wing radicals,” he added. 
In a February 28 <a href="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/487e01de1b7579fc428d19d2ee25ecf9/Item%201%20BOR%20Resolution%20re%20Campus%20Events.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a>, the board said that it found that drag shows were “inconsistent” with the mission of the university system as they “involve sexualized, vulgar or lewd conduct” and “involve conduct that demeans women.”
The board said that it believed that drag shows created a hostile environment for women in violation of Title IX in university public spaces. 
The resolution also cited an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-sign-executive-order-defining-sex-as-male-and-female" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> from President Donald Trump that directs federal funding to be cut from entities that promote gender ideology and a letter from Governor Greg Abbott directing state agencies to comply with the executive order. 
The board wrote that “both the System and the Universities receive significant federal funding, the use of facilities at the Universities for Drag Show Events may be considered promotion of gender ideology in violation of the Executive Order and the Governor’s directive.”
In response to the decision, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression <a href="https://www.thefire.org/news/lawsuit-lgbtq-student-group-sues-overturn-texas-ams-unconstitutional-drag-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a federal lawsuit on behalf of the student-led Queer Empower Group. That group alleged that the board was violating the First Amendment by engaging in viewpoint discrimination.
The group was particularly upset that a drag festival called “Draggieland,” will no longer be allowed to be hosted at a campus venue.

EXCLUSIVE: Texas AG To Defend Texas A&M Over Decision To Ban Campus Drag Shows

Drag Queens

Texas Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ken-paxton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ken Paxton</a> has filed a lawsuit against a New York abortionist, accusing her of unlawfully mailing abortion drugs to a woman in Texas.
Those abortion drugs landed the mother in the emergency room after causing her to hemorrhage, the filing says — and they ended the life of her unborn child. Paxton is asking the court to fine the abortionist $100,000 for each violation of the law, including practicing without a license, and mailing abortion drugs.
“In this case, an out-of-state doctor violated the law and caused serious harm to this patient,&#8221; Paxton said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. &#8220;This doctor prescribed abortion-inducing drugs—unauthorized, over telemedicine—causing her patient to end up in the hospital with serious complications.&#8221;
&#8220;In Texas, we treasure the health and lives of mothers and babies, and this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents,” he added.
The lawsuit targets abortionist Margaret Daley Carpenter, who is not a licensed Texas physician and is not authorized to practice telemedicine in Texas, where abortions of unborn babies are prohibited under almost all circumstances, except if the life or health of the mother is at risk. The law also prohibits physicians or medical suppliers from sending abortion drugs into the state.
&#8220;Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter (Carpenter) of New York violates Texas law by providing abortion-inducing drugs to Texans through telehealth,&#8221; the filing states. &#8220;Carpenter is not a licensed Texas physician, nor is she authorized to practice telemedicine in the State of Texas. The Court should enjoin Carpenter from continuing to operate outside the bounds of the law and impose civil penalties for her violation of Texas law.&#8221;
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Carpenter is the co-medical director and founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine (ACT), an organization promoting abortion drugs. Her biography notes that she has been aborting babies both surgically and medically since 1999.
&#8220;About mid-May 2024, a 20-year-old female resident of Collin County, Texas became pregnant,&#8221; the filing states. &#8220;The mother of the unborn child did not communicate her pregnancy to the biological father of the unborn child. The mother did not have any life threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from the pregnancy that placed her at risk of death or any serious risk of substantial impairment.&#8221;
&#8220;The mother proceeded to utilize telemedicine or telehealth services and received, through Carpenter, two abortion-inducing drugs or prescriptions,&#8221; the complaint continues. &#8220;The first was a box for the drug mifepristone, 200 mg, followed by the &#8216;#1&#8217; and the directions to take 1 tablet by mouth and to &#8216;take this medication first.&#8217; The second was a pill bottle of misoprostol 200 mcg with directions to take 4 tablets (i.e., 800 mcg.) after the mifepristone.&#8221;
The FDA&#8217;s approved mifepristone doses are 200 mg of mifepristone by mouth, then 800 mcg taken in the cheek pouch 24 to 48 hours after that, and follow up with a health care provider about seven to 14 days later.
The mother asked her child&#8217;s father to take her to the hospital because of severe bleeding on July 16, 2024, the suit says. The father only learned that she had been pregnant at the hospital: &#8220;After the mother was seen by health care professionals at a hospital in Collin County, Texas, the biological father of the unborn child was told that the mother of the unborn child was experiencing a hemorrhage or severe bleeding as she &#8216;had been&#8217; nine weeks pregnant before losing the child.&#8221;
He concluded that the child&#8217;s mother had purposefully hid her pregnancy from him, &#8220;and he further suspected that the biological mother had in fact done something to contribute to the miscarriage or abortion of the unborn child.&#8221; He discovered the abortion drugs when they returned home.
&#8220;Carpenter’s conduct violates the Texas Health and Safety Code’s prohibition on prescribing abortion-inducing drugs via telemedicine,&#8221; the complaint states. &#8220;Carpenter’s knowing and continuing violations of Texas law places women and unborn children in Texas at risk. Carpenter sees Texas patients via telehealth and prescribes them abortion inducing medication.&#8221;
New York <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/2023/shelley-b-mayer/new-york-times-new-york-passes-bill-shield-abortion">previously passed legislation</a> that is intended to provide legal protection for doctors to send abortion pills out of state. So this new lawsuit is the first attempt at challenging the state laws against one another.
SBSA Pro-Life America&#8217;s director of legal affairs, Katie Daniel, celebrated the lawsuit in a statement that condemned New York&#8217;s law, urging other pro-life leaders to follow Paxton&#8217;s example.
“For the mail-order abortion industry that sells high-risk drugs without any in-person doctor visit, life is cheap and ‘DIY’ abortion highly profitable,&#8221; she argued. &#8220;Thanks to extreme blue-state politicians who shield them, abortionists in states like New York openly violate the protective laws of pro-life states, killing unborn children and sending women to the emergency room in dire condition – all while sitting comfortably thousands of miles away.&#8221;

Ken Paxton Sues NY Abortionist For Unlawfully Mailing Abortion Drugs To Texas

Eleven Republican attorneys general sued <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/blackrock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BlackRock</a> on Wednesday, alleging it had engaged in a conspiracy with other massive asset managers to constrict the market for coal.
Led by Texas, the attorneys general filed a <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/States%20v%20BlackRock%20Complaint%20Filed.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suit</a> on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street have worked together to push climate policies in order to artificially restrict the supply of coal. The states say that the financial giants, which <a href="https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2024-11-27/blackrock-state-street-vanguard-sued-by-republican-states-over-climate-accords" target="_blank" rel="noopener">control</a> around $26 trillion, have violated federal and state antitrust laws.
“Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices,” <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-blackrock-state-street-and-vanguard-illegally-conspiring-manipulate">said</a> Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of State and federal law.”
The suit was joined by Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Wyoming. They argue that the asset managers have weaponized their holdings in coal companies to restrict the industry and raise prices.
“Defendants have leveraged their holdings and voting of shares to facilitate an output reduction scheme, which has artificially constrained the supply of coal, significantly diminished competition in the markets for coal, increased energy prices for American consumers, and produced cartel-level profits for Defendants,” the suit says.
“Competitive markets — not the dictates of far-flung asset managers — should determine the price Americans pay for electricity,” the Republican AGs added, saying that the companies pursued environmental, social, and governance policies that harmed investors&#8217; bottom line.
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Both State Street and BlackRock responded to the lawsuit by saying it was without merit.
&#8220;State Street acts in the long-term financial interests of investors with a focus on enhancing shareholder value. As long-term capital providers, we have a mutual interest in the long-term success of our portfolio companies. T​his lawsuit is baseless and look forward to presenting the facts through the legal process,&#8221; State Street said.
“BlackRock&#8217;s holdings in energy companies are regularly reviewed by federal and state regulators. We make these investments on behalf of our clients, and our focus is on delivering them financial returns,” the company told The Daily Wire.
“The suggestion that BlackRock has invested money in companies with the goal of harming those companies is baseless and defies common sense. This lawsuit undermines Texas&#8217; pro-business reputation and discourages investments in the companies consumers rely on,” it added.
BlackRock has long faced criticism from conservatives who have argued that it prioritizes leftist activism over customer benefit. The asset manager has been involved in climate-focused groups like the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, and Ceres.

Climate activists protest against fossil fuel use in New York

Republican AGs Sue BlackRock, Say It Has Conspired Against Coal Production

BlackRock

Climate Change

Coal

Social Issues

Vanguard

The weaponization of the U.S. Department of Justice against purported enemies of the Biden-Harris administration is nothing new. The Department’s persecution of pro-life advocates, praying grandmothers, and fathers of young children under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (while routinely ignoring arson and vandalism at crisis pregnancy centers chargeable under the same law) is hard to deny.
But the Department’s meritless criminal prosecution of Dr. Eithan Haim, a whistleblowing physician who exposed covert gender medicine procedures inflicted on minors at Texas Children’s Hospital — performed in violation of state law — is an outrageous abuse of its law enforcement authority.
The principal wrongdoer in Dr. Haim’s case — leading the charge in his criminal prosecution for alleged violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) — is Assistant United States Attorney Tina Ansari, a Democratic donor who targeted Haim in part during a time when her law license had been suspended by the Texas Bar for failure to pay her bar dues.
As legal scholar Ed Whelan has correctly <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/dojs-false-pretenses-prosecution-of-whistleblower-dr-eithan-haim/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed</a> out, the only reason Haim was targeted was because “he ran afoul of the transgender ideology that dominates” the current presidential administration.
But now, in <a href="https://eppc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/179145791960.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pleadings</a> filed by Dr. Haim’s lawyers and in separate complaints filed by a former DOJ lawyer with both the State Bar of Texas and the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, Ansari is accused of having “knowingly sponsored false information” to the federal grand jury that indicted Haim and of having “knowingly misled a tribunal and presented deliberately misleading information to a grand jury.”
In other words, she wasn’t just practicing law on a suspended license. She is charged with lying to the grand jury to get Haim indicted — itself a violation of federal law.
As journalist Christopher Rufo <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/sex-change-procedures-at-texas-childrens-hospital" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, Dr. Haim knew the hospital “secretly continued to perform transgender medical interventions, including the use of implantable puberty blockers, on minor children” after it assured the public it was no longer engaging in such medically dangerous and risky actions. Haim did not disclose the name of any patients, or any personally identifiable medical information protected by federal law under HIPAA (<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1320d-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">42 U.S.C. §§1320d-6</a>).
The Justice Department didn’t care. It charged Haim with criminally violating HIPAA anyway, arguing that he had disclosed “individually identifiable health information,” something explicitly prohibited by HIPAA.
The punishment for such a conviction? Up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The original grand jury indictment claimed he had obtained HIPAA-protected patient medical information through “false pretenses.” Haim had, allegedly, accessed the medical records after he completed his surgical rotation at Texas Children’s Hospital in January 2021 and had no more patients there. But, according to the ethics complaints and a motion for grand jury material filed by Haim’s lawyers, Haim did still have patients at the hospital, and Ansari and other government prosecutors knew it. That would have made his access of patient records entirely legal under HIPAA.
The hospital provided records to the government showing that Haim continued to treat patients at the hospital after his residency was over, during the time when the grand jury indictment claims he wasn’t treating any patients and had no legal right to access patient records. All of this is also apparent in a “<a href="https://eppc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DOC.76.Superseding-Indictment.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Superseding Indictment</a>” Ansari filed on Oct. 10 that, as the defense points out, deletes all references to Haim accessing patient records when he was supposedly no longer treating patients at the hospital. Yet the new indictment still claims he obtained those records under “false pretenses.”
As a result, Haim’s lawyers asked the court to provide them with access to all of the materials the grand jury considered when it issued the original indictment.
Why? Because the documents would likely show that the hospital told Ansari that Haim was continuing to treat patients at the hospital when she was making presentations to the grand jury claiming the opposite.
Grand jury materials are secret under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">applicable</a> federal rules of criminal procedure. But the grand jury materials should be released in this case, says Haim’s lawyers, under the exceptions provided in the rules, to determine if the government “knowingly” sponsored “false information before the grand jury” and if that false information was “capable” of “influencing the grand jury’s decision.”
The lawyers are right when they tell the court that if “the government has made material misleading statements to the grand jury, the defense should be permitted to review the relevant grand jury material.”
Haim has also filed a “Show Cause” motion asking the court to issue an order against Ansari for “engaging in the practice of law with a suspended law license.” The motion says she was administratively suspended on Sept. 1 for not paying her bar dues. She responded that she remedied this problem as of Sept. 19.
But as Haim’s attorneys point out, Ansari was signing and filing pleadings in the case during her suspension, which violates the Texas Code of Professional Conduct, the court’s own rules, and the internal rules of the Justice Department that direct DOJ lawyers to immediately cease their representation of the government during such a lapse.
Not surprisingly, Ansari is a big donor to Democrat candidates, having contributed a total of $11,350, which is quite a bit of money for a career civil service employee. Mind you, there is nothing illegal about those donations, but as the complaint filed against her with the Office of Professional Responsibility at DOJ states, it raises serious questions on whether “her specific ideological or political view as it related to the highly controversial issues in this prosecution” biased her judgment and prompted her to mislead a federal grand jury.
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The pursuit of Dr. Haim is simply outrageous. As one of Haim’s principal lawyers, Marcella Burke, told us, “DOJ has charged Dr. Haim with a non-existent crime. At a charitable minimum, this is a reckless prosecution and at its extreme, it is malicious prosecution.”
The fact that the indictment hasn’t been dropped indicates what’s really going on here. Because Haim didn’t release any personal medical information about any patient, something HIPAA prevents, the new indictment now charges him with allegedly acting to “cause malicious harm” to the hospital and its physicians.
And what is the “malicious harm” Haim caused? Apparently, the Justice Department believes that he inflicted “malicious harm” by letting the public know that a children’s hospital was lying when it claimed it was no longer inflicting transgender medical abuse on its minor patients and that the hospital was violating Texas law.
That is a prosecution based on politics and ideology, not the law and the interests of justice or, for that matter, of the public at large. While the prosecution continues against Dr. Haim, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/paxton-announces-second-investigation-texas-hospital-potentially-unlawfully-performing-gender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> an investigation into Texas Children’s Hospital for performing gender “affirming” medicine in violation of state law.
The Lonestar State has outlawed hormone replacement therapy for minors and other forms of “gender-affirming care,” if that type of mistreatment can be called “care.” AG Paxton has <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-doctor-illegally-providing-harmful-gender-transition-treatments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that “doctors who continue to provide these harmful ‘gender transition’ drugs and treatments will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
If his claim is true, Dr. Haim should be praised for exposing wrongdoing at Texas Children’s Hospital. Instead, he faces a federal criminal indictment. Sadly, the U.S. Justice Department’s view of law enforcement now appears to be driven by politics, not justice.
* * *
Hans von Spakovsky and Sarah Parshall Perry are senior legal fellows in The Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Dr. Eithan Haim

Biden-Harris DOJ Prosecutor Targets Trans Whistleblower Doctor Again

Attorney General

Doctors

Federal Government

gender ideology

Hospitals

minors

Opinion

transgender surgery

Texas Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ken-paxton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ken Paxton</a> launched an investigation into Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue and found that a large number of suspicious and untraceable donations were processed by the platform.
The investigation into ActBlue, which began in 2023, previously <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxtons-ongoing-investigation-actblue-yields-cooperation-donor-credit-card">resulted</a> in the online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates requiring donors to provide their “CVV” codes on the back of their credit cards in order to make a contribution. Paxton is still warning against ActBlue, however, contending that the site has received donations from those using false identities.
Paxton now <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/investigation-actblue-attorney-general-ken-paxton-uncovers-large-number-suspicious-donations-made">says</a> that it appears donations are “systematically being made using false identities, through untraceable payment methods” and <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/ActBlue%20FEC%20Petition%20Redacted%20Final.pdf">sent a petition</a> to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) calling on the entity to adopt new rules to safeguard elections. “Certain platforms appear to facilitate straw donor transactions, where a contributor disguises his identity by attributing his contribution to another, unaware person,” Paxton wrote, also highlighting that “prepaid cards are a favorite tool of fraudsters.”
“Notably, however, one of the most prominent online contribution platforms—ActBlue—submitted comments to the Commission encouraging it not to adopt regulations for prepaid cards that would have hampered this potential fraud,” the petition to the FEC from Paxton goes on to say. &#8220;If not corrected by the FEC, bad actors can—with trivial ease—illegally funnel foreign money into American elections, exceed political contribution limits, and more,&#8221; a press release from Paxton states.
Paxton also noted that his investigation reaffirmed public <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rubio-demands-probe-actblue-reports-fraudulent-fundraising-off-seniors">reporting</a> on ActBlue, which <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-data-shows-that-half-of-2019-donations-to-actblue-came-from-untraceable-unemployed-donors">found</a> that the names of people on fixed incomes, who say they did not donate on the platform, were recorded as donors.
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“These contributions are being made in such high volume that, even without investigation, it strains credulity to believe they were legitimately made by the person whose name was provided as being the contributor,” Paxton said of these cases in his petition before highlighting the results of his investigation.
“Attorney General Paxton has independently corroborated that the public allegations about straw contributions appear true. Namely, many persons’ names have been used to make hundreds of unique contributions totaling many thousands of dollars per year,” the petition reads. “In many instances, contributions are made in these peoples’ names literally multiple times per day, almost every single day of the year.”
The redacted petition sent by Paxton to the FEC also requests that new amendments are added to existing policies, namely that political committees be required to “implement procedures ensuring that identities provided by donors match the information that the issuer of the donor’s payment card has on file.” It also urges the FEC to create an amendment establishing that political committees are out of compliance “with its obligation to maintain adequate records to verify donor identities if the committee accepts certain types of prepaid cards.”
“Our investigation into ActBlue has uncovered facts indicating that bad actors can illegally interfere in American elections by disguising political donations,&#8221; Paxton noted. &#8220;It is imperative that the FEC close off the avenues we have identified by which foreign contributions or contributions in excess of legal limits could be unlawfully funneled to political campaigns, bypassing campaign finance regulations and compromising our electoral system.&#8221;

TX AG Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General Finds ‘Suspicious,’ ‘Untraceable’ Donations Made On Dem Fundraising Site

Democrat

fundraiser

A federal appeals court sided with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> on Tuesday, saying that the state does not have to remove a water buoy barrier placed in the Rio Grande to deter illegal immigration.
In its <a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/23/23-50632-CV1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decision</a>, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Biden administration failed to provide evidence that the barrier needed to be removed, vacating a lower court’s order. The Justice Department had filed a lawsuit against Texas accusing it of violating federal law after it placed a chain of floating buoys along a stretch of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. 
“Cognizant of our role as a court of review and of the reality that a preliminary injunction is an exceptional remedy, we hold that the district court clearly erred in finding that the United States will likely prove that the barrier is in a navigable stretch of the Rio Grande,” Circuit Judge Don Willett wrote. “We cannot square the district court’s findings and conclusions with over a century’s worth of precedent, which on a fair and faithful reading renders inapplicable or unpersuasive the evidence on which the district court relies.”
Willett said the lower court sided with the DOJ, saying that the barrier threatened human life and safety, impaired navigation, and violated the Rivers and Harbors Act. He said that neither justification was supported by the evidence. 
The decision specifically criticized the district court attributing the barrier to drownings in the river. 
&#8220;The district court again set aside reason by inferring that the barrier caused the deaths of two people found nearby—one at the southern end of the barrier and the other three miles upriver — from news articles that said nothing of the sort,” Willett wrote.
In a dissent, Circuit Judge Dana Douglas wrote that the lower court&#8217;s decision was backed by the evidence.
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&#8220;The district court relied on all the evidence discussed herein to find that the balance of hardships favors the United States. It considered the threat to navigation and federal government operations on the Rio Grande, as well as the potential threat to human life the floating barrier created,&#8221; he wrote.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Republican Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the decision.
“We fought to keep these barriers in the water, and with the Fifth Circuit&#8217;s decision, that is exactly where they will remain,” Abbott said. “This fight is far from over. Texas will continue to defend our constitutional right to secure our southern border to keep our state and the nation safe.”
Further litigation on the barriers is expected to begin on August 6.

Biden Administration Announced Plans To Add To Rio Grande Border Wall

Appeals Court Sides With Texas In Battle With Biden Admin Over Border Buoys

Biden Administration

Politics

U.S. Politics

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> did not have to follow guidance from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> which interpreted prohibitions against sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. 
The judge ruled that Biden’s Education Department had unlawfully exceeded its authority when it issued guidance in 2021 that opened up the door for schools to be liable for discrimination if they adopted policies like limiting bathroom access on the basis of sex. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration in June 2023 to shield Texas from enforcement of the policy. 
“Nothing in the statute expressly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or other unexpressed grounds,” U.S. District Judge for the North District of Texas Reed O’Connor wrote in a <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Title%20IX%20Guidance%20Injunction%20Order.pdf">112-page ruling</a>. “And where Title IX allows for differentiation based on sex due to biological differences — such as intimate facilities and athletic teams — recipients may treat persons in accordance with their biological sex without regard to subjective gender identity.”
Paxton’s lawsuit came after the Education Department released a memo on June 22, 2021, <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/06/22/2021-13058/enforcement-of-title-ix-of-the-education-amendments-of-1972-with-respect-to-discrimination-based-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that it “interprets Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination ‘on the basis of sex’ to encompass discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
The department also said that it would “fully enforce Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education programs” for schools that receive federal funding. This means schools could face legal challenges if they had policies in place that said transgender-identifying students would have to use the bathroom facility or play on a sports team based on sex.  
Judge O’Connor disagreed with the Education Department, saying that it was not logical to include gender identity under sex. 
“Title IX explicitly appreciates the innate biological variation between men and women that occasionally warrants differentiation — and even separation — to preserve educational opportunities and to promote respect for both sexes,” the George W. Bush appointee wrote. 
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The guidance is different from the widely challenged <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-final-title-ix-regulations-providing-vital-protections-against-sex-discrimination#:~:text=The%20final%20rule%20requires%20schools,and%20not%20otherwise%20impermissible%20evidence." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Title IX rules</a> unveiled in April that officially add gender identity and sexual orientation into federal education discrimination law. 
Paxton <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-major-win-blocking-biden-administrations-attempt-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrated</a> the judge’s decision, saying Biden’s guidance was dangerous. 
“Joe Biden’s unlawful effort to weaponize Title IX for his extremist agenda has been stopped in its tracks,” Paxton said in a statement on Tuesday night. “Threatening to withhold education funding by forcing states to accept ‘transgender’ policies that put women in danger was plainly illegal. Texas has prevailed on behalf of the entire Nation.”
The guidance had <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/biden-admin-protections-lgbtq-students-struck-down-by-texas-court-2024-06-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously</a> been blocked from being enforced in 20 other states where a coalition of Republican attorneys general had challenged the policy.

President Biden Speaks At Everytown’s Gun Sense University

Biden’s Title IX Transgender Guidelines For Public Schools Blocked By Texas Judge

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