Governor Abbott demands Attorney General Ken Paxton take action against CAIR

Governor Greg Abbott fired off a strongly worded letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday, urging him to strip the organization CAIR of its nonprofit status and eliminate its ability to operate in Texas. The news release from Abbott's office stated that the Governor "demands the OAG use existing tools to eliminate CAIR's operations in Texas."   

Abbott previously designated both the Council on American Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations. 

Abbott's letter said, "Texas law empowers you to issue civil investigative demands to compel organizations like CAIR to produce documents, answer questions, or provide testimony regarding potential civil violations. Your office may even seek a lien against all existing property the nonprofit has in this state. You have used these tools before; I urge you to use them to combat CAIR."

At a campaign event on Thursday, CBS News Texas asked the Governor about his letter and if the Attorney General's Office is doing its job. Abbott said, "For one, I wanted to outline, not just for the Attorney General, but for the people of Texas, actions that can and must be taken to address these issues. It's an important piece of communication. I've talked to the Attorney General, and they're ready, willing, and able to step up and make sure they do everything we can to safeguard Texas and Texans from organizations that have historical connections to terrorism." When asked if he was unsatisfied with the pace at which the Attorney General's Office is working on this, Abbott said, "I just wanted to make clear what needs to be done and the urgency for the need for speed."

CBS News Texas reached out to a spokesman at the Attorney General's Office, but we didn't hear back.

CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights advocacy organization, filed suit against Abbott and Paxton in November to keep Abbott's designation from being enforced. The organization called the designation by the state defamatory and said it has no basis in fact.

Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to launch criminal investigations into CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood and has ordered investigations in North Texas to determine if there are Sharia courts operating illegally. 

Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 Sunday morning on CBS News Texas on air and streaming

Follow Jack on X: @cbs11jack