Judge Orders Abbott to Let Hinojosa Review 1,000-Plus Pages of His Unredacted Communications With Elon Musk

With one week until Election Day, the race for governor of Texas has a new legal front. A Travis County judge ruled on Monday that Gov. Greg Abbott must allow his Democratic challenger, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, to review more than 1,000 pages of unredacted communications between the governor's office and billionaire Elon Musk, FOX 7 Austin reported. Hinojosa has been seeking access to the records since September, raising questions about Musk's political contributions to Abbott and his companies' business dealings with the state.

In a video posted to social media, Hinojosa criticized the governor's decision to withhold the communications. "He denied these, saying they are intimate and embarrassing," she said. Hinojosa also alleged that Abbott redirected a $100 million state contract to a Musk-owned company shortly after Musk contributed $500,000 to Abbott's campaign. Those allegations have not been established by the court's ruling, FOX 7 reported. Abbott's office has appealed the decision, with his attorneys characterizing Hinojosa's legal action as politically motivated.

The ruling is narrower than a public release. It concerns Hinojosa's ability to inspect the records in her capacity as a state legislator, and it does not automatically require the communications to be made public. While the legal dispute continues, Abbott was back on the campaign trail Monday, joining Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton at a rally in Wichita Falls. "Are you ready to keep Texas red? Are you gonna vote Republican from the top to bottom?" Abbott told the crowd. "And if you do so, you are going to keep Texas, Texas." Early voting in Texas runs through Friday, October 30, ahead of Election Day on November 3.