Politics

James Talarico petitions court to release Ken Paxton depositions in Texas Senate race

The Democratic Senate candidate seeks public disclosure of testimony from a settled civil fraud case involving the Texas Attorney General.

Updated Aug 26, 2026 · 15:33 UTC3 reports

The short version

Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico filed a court motion seeking the public release of two depositions given by Republican opponent Ken Paxton.
The depositions stem from a settled civil fraud case involving Unity Resources, an energy firm Paxton was connected to but not named as a defendant.
Paxton has denied all allegations against him, dismissing them as politically motivated smears.

Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico petitioned a court to unseal two depositions given by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.[ABC News · The Washington Post · Associated Press]
The testimony involves a settled civil fraud case against mineral assets company Unity Resources, where Paxton was connected but was not a defendant.[ABC News · Associated Press]
Talarico's legal filing argues that withholding the depositions lacks legal basis and violates Texas constitutional provisions for open judicial proceedings.[ABC News · Associated Press]
Paxton previously resolved criminal securities fraud charges through a restitution agreement without admitting guilt, and was impeached by the Texas House before being acquitted by the state Senate.[ABC News · Associated Press]
Paxton has consistently denied wrongdoing, characterizing allegations from his opponents as politically motivated.[ABC News · Associated Press]

Whether the court will grant the motion to make the deposition transcripts public remains pending.[ABC News · Associated Press]
Prior reporting that Paxton potentially breached attorney-client privilege during testimony was disputed by parties involved in the case.[ABC News · Associated Press]