Whistleblower Ryan Vassar revealed during testimony Friday morning that the attorney general’s office kept a “blacklist” of reporters whom they “handled differently than other reporters.” Vassar testified that Dallas Morning News reporter Lauren McGaughy, who has covered the attorney general’s office for a decade, was on that list.
The revelation came during the cross-examination of Vassar, the former deputy attorney general for legal counsel, continued into a second day on Friday. Paxton defense attorney Mitch Little directed the witness to specific group text messages where they discussed McGaughy’s coverage of the office as they reported Paxton’s activity to the FBI. The group text also included messages that criticized new lawyers in the office who were hired as the whistleblowers were fired or resigned after they reported Paxton’s allegedly illegal activity to the FBI.
