Texas Governor Abbott Withholds Musk Emails

United States — Texas Governor Greg Abbott is refusing to release months of email communications between his office and Elon Musk, or representatives from Musk's companies, despite a request from The Texas Newsroom. Abbott's office initially charged The Texas Newsroom $244.64 for the records, but after payment, claimed the emails were confidential, citing 'common-law privacy' and arguing they contain 'intimate and embarrassing' information not of legitimate public concern. SpaceX, through its lawyer Kevin Bagnall, also objected to the release, claiming the emails contain 'commercial information whose disclosure would cause SpaceX substantial competitive harm.' Public records attorney Bill Aleshire criticized Abbott's stance, calling it 'shocking' and noting that a recent United States — Texas Supreme Court ruling has made it difficult to enforce public records laws against top state officials. The United States — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office now has 45 business days to decide whether to release the records.