The Texas State Bar has sued Attorney General Ken Paxton's top aide and is poised to include him in a similar lawsuit alleging he made dishonest claims in a petition to have the US Supreme Court overturn Joe Biden's 2020 election victory in four swing states.
Mr Paxton's name appears on the same petition as his aide, First Assistant Brent Webster, and he said he expects to be included in a similar suit.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, the attorney general accused the State Bar of being a "liberal activist group masquerading as a neutral professional organisation."
He went on to defend the petition, calling it a legitimate challenge to the "unconstitutional 2020 presidential election."
The lawsuit saw Texas suing Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin for adopting mail-in voting in the 2020 election in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It alleged the changes were unlawful and sought to have the legally-cast swing-state votes tossed out.
The Supreme Court ultimately tossed the ruling out.
Mr Paxton has countered back announcing he would begin an investigation into the Texas Bar Foundation, alleging it gave money to groups that "encourage, participate in, and fund illegal immigration at the Texas-Mexico border."
"It appears that the liberal State Bar’s handpicked cronies are misusing charitable funds to make the [border] situation even worse," Mr Paxton said.
In its filing, the State Bar accused Mr Webster of making unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the Supreme Court petition, including claims that unregistered and illegal votes were turned into some state elections, which aided Mr Biden. He also claimed that Dominion voting machine glitches switched votes from Mr Trump to Mr Biden.
The suit says Mr Webster's "representations were dishonest. His allegations were not supported by any charge, indictment, judicial finding, and/or credible or admissible evidence," and that he "misrepresented that the State of Texas had 'uncovered substantial evidence … that raises serious doubts as to the integrity of the election process.'"
The lawsuit wants to see a ruling of professional misconduct brought against Mr Webster for violating the state's ethics rule that says lawyers "shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation."
Mr Paxton has remained firmly opposed to the State Bar, calling them "leftists."
"Texas bar: I'll see you and the leftists that control you in court," Mr Paxton said Friday on Twitter. "I'll never let you bully me, my staff, or the Texans I represent into backing down or going soft on defending the rule of law — something for which you have little knowledge."
The organisation's president, Sylvia Borunda Firth, dismissed Mr Paxton's accusations, claiming the group's lawsuit is not motivated by partisan politics.
"The system is designed to ensure fairness to all parties," Ms Borunda Firth said. "Partisan political considerations play no role in determining whether to pursue a grievance or how that grievance proceeds through the system. Any claims to the contrary are untrue."
