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Twitter sues Texas AG Ken Paxton, alleging he launched probe in retaliation for Trump ban

09 March 2021
Dan Ackermann

Twitter on Monday filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), saying that his office launched an investigation into the social media giant because it banned former President Trump from its platform.

Driving the news: Twitter is seeking to halt an investigation launched by Paxton into moderation practices by Big Tech firms including Twitter for what he called "the seemingly coordinated de-platforming of the President" days after they banned him following the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

  • In the suit, filed in a Northern California court, Twitter said "Paxton made clear that he will use the full weight of his office, including his expansive investigatory powers, to retaliate against Twitter for having made editorial decisions with which he disagrees," per AP.
  • Twitter said it has rights under the First Amendment "to make decisions about what content to disseminate through its platform," including "the discretion to remove or otherwise restrict access to Tweets, profiles, or other content posted to Twitter," according to Bloomberg.

For the record: Paxton is an ardent Trump supporter, who unsuccessfully filed lawsuits that sought to invalidate 10 million votes in four battleground states lost by the former president in the 2020 election.

Of note: The attorney general is facing other separate legal challenges, including an FBI investigation into allegations that he "used his office to benefit a wealthy donor," AP notes.

  • He's also due to stand trial on securities fraud charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The case that dates back to 2015 has stalled in the courts following legal challenges, according to AP.
  • Representatives for Twitter and Paxton did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details on the lawsuit and further context.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.