Texas AG Investigating Last Weeks Stock Market Snafu, Sues Biden Administration Over Immigration EO’s

Staff Report

The responsibilities, of the Office of the Attorney General, are to serve as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issue legal opinions when requested by the Governor, heads of state agencies, and other officials and agencies as provided by Texas statutes.

The Texas AG sits as an ex-officio member of state committees and commissions and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the State.

Many Texans look to the Office of the Attorney General for guidance with disputes and legal issues. The agency receives hundreds of letters, phone calls, and visits each week about crime victims’ compensation, child support, abuse in nursing homes, possible consumer fraud, and other topics.

To find out more about the Texas Attorney General, visit the official website at https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/.

AG Paxton Issues CIDs to Robinhood, Discord, Citadel, and Others That Suspended Stock Trading and Investing

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today issued 13 Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to Discord, Robinhood Financial, Robinhood Markets, Robinhood Securities, Interactive Brokers, TD Ameritrade, TD Bank, E-Trade, WeBull Financial, Public Holdings, M1 Holdings, Citadel Financial, and Apex Clearing Corporation, regarding the prohibition of certain stock purchases, requiring higher margin reserves for trading certain companies, and suspending chat platform activity.

In addition to public statements and internal documents, the CIDs request copies of all terms of service, policies related to content control and moderation, and communications between platforms and moderators of chat servers, including decisions to limit, control, or prevent access to the Discord r/WallStreetBets server.

“Wall Street corporations cannot limit public access to the free market, nor should they censor discussion surrounding it, particularly for their own benefit. This apparent coordination between hedge funds, trading platforms, and web servers to shut down threats to their market dominance is shockingly unprecedented and wrong. It stinks of corruption,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I’m hopeful that these companies will step up and cooperate with these CIDs in order to clear any confusion over why stock purchases were forcibly closed and why even conversation around these stocks was silenced.”

Following the GameStop stock surge, the companies receiving CIDs took extraordinary and unusual steps to limit access to the market, including forcibly closing off access to American citizens attempting to make trades and investments.

Read copies of the CIDs here.

AG Paxton Sues Biden Administration, Demanding Immediate Halt to Unlawful Deportation Freeze

AUSTIN – Last week, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, asking the Court to immediately halt the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) freeze on deportations of illegal aliens.

On its first day in office, the Biden Administration cast aside congressionally enacted immigration laws and suspended the removal of illegal aliens whose removal is compelled by those very laws.

The move violates the U.S. Constitution, federal immigration and administrative law, and a contractual agreement between Texas and DHS.

Last night, Attorney General Paxton issued a letter warning that the Administration’s actions resulted in an abdication of DHS’s obligation to enforce federal immigration law, which would seriously and irreparably harm Texas and its citizens.

“In one of its first of dozens of steps that harm Texas and the nation as a whole, the Biden administration directed DHS to violate federal immigration law and breach an agreement to consult and cooperate with Texas on that law. Our state defends the largest section of the southern border in the nation. Failure to properly enforce the law will directly and immediately endanger our citizens and law enforcement personnel,” said Attorney General Paxton. “DHS itself has previously acknowledged that such a freeze on deportations will cause concrete injuries to Texas. I am confident that these unlawful and perilous actions cannot stand. The rule of law and security of our citizens must prevail.”

• Read a copy of the complaint here.
• Read a copy of the motion for TRO here.
• Read a copy of the letter here.