Appeals Court Stays Order in Abbott-Hinojosa Records Dispute

AUSTIN, TX — The Office of Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday released a statement on an appellate court order that stayed a Travis County district court ruling that would have allowed state Rep. Gina Hinojosa to access records from the governor’s office. 

The Fifteenth Court of Appeals stayed the lower court order and directed Hinojosa to respond to the governor’s petition seeking to dismiss the case. The appeals court ruled that the Office of the Governor does not have to comply with the district court’s order, the governor’s office said. 

“This was a sham lawsuit in a rigged district court,” said Office of the Governor Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris. “The trial court judge refused to follow the law and rubber-stamped an illegal fishing expedition into the Governor’s Office. The appeals court rightly froze this abuse of process.” 

The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by Hinojosa, a Democrat representing Austin who is challenging Abbott in the Nov. 3 election. She sought to inspect unredacted versions of more than 1,300 pages of communications between Abbott’s office and Elon Musk that had been compiled in response to an earlier public records request. 

A Travis County district judge had ordered the governor’s office to provide access. Abbott’s office appealed, and the stay took effect while the appeal and a related mandamus petition proceed. 

The Fifteenth Court of Appeals, which has exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over certain cases involving the state, ordered Hinojosa to file a response to the governor’s petition within 14 days of its order.