On Wednesday, James Talarico’s campaign asked a Collin County court to unseal two depositions Ken Paxton gave under oath. These six hours of testimony have never been made public. Paxton, the Texas attorney general and Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, gave these depositions in 2019 and 2022 as part of a long-running securities fraud lawsuit involving an energy company he once represented.
The motion says Texas law does not require the transcripts to stay hidden and that voters should be able to read them before the November election. Talarico’s attorneys also asked the court for a quick hearing, noting how close the Senate race is.
The lawsuit that put Paxton under oath
The case began when Charles Loper III, a close friend of Paxton, sued Byron Cook, a former state legislator who served with Paxton in the Texas House. Loper and his father said Cook cheated them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which Cook denied in court. The lawsuit focused on Unity Resources, a Texas energy company, and Paxton was deeply involved. He had been the company’s lawyer, served on its board, and was an investor.
Paxton was not a defendant, but as Unity’s former attorney, he was deposed twice. Neither transcript has been released. The lawsuit was eventually settled.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed the first deposition and reported in April that Paxton may have broken attorney-client privilege by sharing confidential information about Unity with Mitch Little, a state representative and attorney for Loper. Legal ethics experts told the Journal that giving a former client’s communications to someone suing that client violates privilege. The Journal also said Paxton answered ‘I don’t recall’ about 90 times during the first deposition.
At the time, Paxton campaign spokesperson Nick Maddux called the Journal’s reporting “blatant lies” and accused the paper of violating a court order.
The judge who kept it sealed
Cynthia Wheless, the Collin County district judge on the case, sealed both depositions. She and her husband have donated to the Paxtons’ campaigns over the years, including a $1,000 donation from Cynthia Wheless to Angela Paxton in 2018, according to Texas campaign finance records. Together, they have given about $1,825 to Ken and Angela Paxton’s campaigns since 2014.
Her husband, Ray Wheless, is also a judge. In July 2025, he ordered the Paxtons’ divorce records sealed. The Paxtons later agreed to unseal those records after news organizations challenged the order in court.
Those are not accusations. They are public records.
Paxton’s response: attack Talarico, ignore the depositions
Paxton’s campaign did not comment on the depositions. In a statement to USA TODAY, spokeswoman Madison Cercy called the motion “a desperate attempt to hide his own extremism” and criticized Talarico’s voting record in the Legislature, accusing him of supporting tax increases.
That was the full response. The statement did not mention Unity Resources, the sealed transcripts, or why six hours of sworn testimony should remain hidden from the voters Paxton wants to represent in Washington.
A candidate who keeps surviving
Paxton has faced similar situations before. The Republican-led Texas House impeached him in 2023 on charges including bribery, but the GOP-controlled state Senate acquitted him on all 16 articles that September. In July 2025, his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, said she had filed to end their 38-year marriage on what she called “biblical grounds.”
He beat Sen. John Cornyn for the Republican nomination in May. Cornyn and his allies warned throughout the primary that Paxton would be vulnerable in a general election, even in a state Trump carried by roughly 14 points in 2024.
Paxton has been trailing Talarico in most public polling since he won the nomination, and forecasters rate the race a toss-up. The stakes reach well beyond Texas. Control of the Senate for the final two years of Trump’s term could come down to this seat.
What happens next
Talarico’s campaign wants a hearing scheduled soon and is asking the court to rule that there is no legal reason to keep the transcripts secret.
If the court agrees, Texans will be able to read what Paxton said under oath about a fraud case involving his friend, his former client, and his own money before they vote. If not, voters will have to choose a senator while six hours of his sworn testimony remain sealed.
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Democratic Reporter covers the actions of powerful people when they think no one is watching. Ken Paxton is asking Texans for a Senate seat that will help shape the last two years of Donald Trump’s term, even as his own sworn testimony remains sealed. If you think voters should see the full story before voting, subscribe to Democratic Reporter and share this story with someone in Texas.
