A Texas state senator was caught on video during a public hearing pledging to hunt down the identity of the person responsible for filing an illegal voting complaint on one of his constituents in the aftermath of the Texas 2020 presidential primary.
Texas State Senator Borris Miles was referring to a complaint filed resulting in the subsequent indictment of Hervis Rogers, whom Senator Miles revealed is one of his constituents in the Harris County-area Texas Senate District 13.
But first some background from the NY Post:
"A Texas man who was hailed as a national hero after he queued for several hours in order to cast a ballot in last year’s presidential primary, was charged with illegal voting earlier this week.
Hervis Rogers was arrested Wednesday in Houston, charged with two counts of illegal voting, according to a report on Houston Public Media. He is being held in jail, unable to pay bail set at $100,000.
“Mr. Rogers is being held in jail on an extremely high bail amount that he cannot afford for what amounts to simply attempting to fulfill his civic duty. This is not justice,” said ACLU of Texas legal director Andre Segura. “He faces potentially decades in jail. Our laws should not intimidate people from voting by increasing the risk of prosecution for, at worst, innocent mistakes.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is alleging that Rogers voted while on parole for a 1995 conviction for burglary.
In Texas, it is illegal for those convicted of a felony to vote in an election until their sentence is completed, including probation and parole. Rogers’ parole began in 2004 and expired in June 2020. The Texas primaries, in which he cast his ballot, were held in March of that year.
With that context scroll to the 2:50:00 minute mark of the Texas Senate State Affairs hearing held July 10, 2021.
Witness answer: "We received a complaint through the Secretary of States office."
Senator Miles: "Through the Secretary of States office?"
Witness: "We got a complaint from the public."
Senator Miles: "I need not ask...who in the public?"
Witness answer: "So 31.006 information regarding complaints to the the Attorney Generals office is not public information until the investigation is completed."
Senator Miles: "My office will be submitting a legislative privilege to get that information request so that...I would like to know..I'd like to know who that "publican"---who it is, who it is requestin' that".
