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Texas judge orders depositions in transgender mailers case
A Travis County judge has ordered two companies to answer questions as the Transgender Education Network of Texas works to identify who sent millions of controversial mailers and text messages using the organization’s name and materials.
AUSTIN, Texas - A Travis County judge has ruled that attorneys for the Transgender Education Network can question the people behind the mystery mailers that have created a lot of anger and confusion in Texas just days before the midterm elections.
Transgender Mailer Mystery
What we know:
The mystery mailers addressed to students in thousands of Texas households are now the subject of both a criminal investigation and potential legal action.
Sarah Stogner, a Republican district attorney from West Texas, opened the criminal investigation after she said State Rep. Jeff Leach’s requests for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate the mailers went ignored.
"It seems pretty clear that the intent was to impact elections, but my jurisdiction from what I’ve seen, I don’t think there’s any sort of election law that’s been violated under our current statutes. So I’m investigating it as potential forgery given that it purports to come from organizations that did not send it and it appears to be an attempt to harm those organizations," Stogner said.
Political mailers on transgender resources addressed to North Texas children raise questions, concerns
Political mailers about transgender resources addressed to children in local households are raising eyebrows across North Texas, and an investigation into their origin has raised more questions than answers.
The Transgender Education Network, the organization named on the mailers, denied sending them. TENT filed a petition in an Austin court for discovery to find out who is behind them. The judge granted their request.
The mailers appear to have a fake return address with the sender’s name of Texas Transgender Student Union. That organization was just formed in September in Wyoming.
Chris Hilton, an Austin attorney who previously worked for Paxton in the Texas Attorney General’s Office, represents that Wyoming LLC. He’s filed an appeal against TENT’s petition.
In court documents, Hilton argued his client wants to keep their identity hidden and have a First Amendment right to stay in the shadows.
What they're saying:
Constitutional law attorney David Coale shared some insight on the case and the law.
"The issue here, the argument they are making against TENT is there’s a long tradition in this country you can speak anonymously," he said. "That’s fine except if you’re being fraudulent about who you are. Our point isn’t about what you’re saying. It’s about who you say you are. You’re using that process that does have legitimate reasons in a misleading kind of way."
What's next:
Lawyers for TENT want the unmasking of the mailers' identities to come before election day next Tuesday.
Stogner thinks it could take weeks to months before their identity is revealed.
The Source: Information in this story comes from legal documents and FOX 4 reporting.