Twitter suing Texas attorney general Paxton for abusing his office

Ken Paxton, the attorney general of the Lone Star Republic is already in a Texas-sized heap o' trouble. The FBI is investing claims that Paxton committed bribery and abuse of office to help a wealthy real estate developer. He's also awaiting trial on securities fraud charges. And now Twitter has thrown another passel of hassle at Paxton, in the form of a lawsuit for abusing his office to try to punish Twitter for dethroning Trump.

From NBC News:

Days after the deadly January insurrection, Paxton announced an investigation into Twitter and four other major technology companies for what he called "the seemingly coordinated de-platforming of the President." The attorney general's office demanded that the companies produce a variety of records related to their content moderation policies and troves of internal communications.

Twitter responded Monday with a federal lawsuit alleging Paxton is seeking to punish it for taking Trump's account offline — a decision the social media company says is protected free speech. It asks a judge to declare the decision to be under the ambit of the First Amendment and to, in essence, halt Paxton's investigation.

"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," lawyers for the company wrote in the suit filed in a Northern California court.

Image: By Alice Linahan Voices Empower – Sen. Ken Paxton announces run for Attorney General, CC BY-SA 2.0 [modified]