Hunt files police report against Cornyn campaign staffer over alleged family 'doxxing' incident
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Wesley Hunt, who is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Texas, filed a police report on Tuesday after a senior campaign staffer for one of his GOP opponents posted a 2016 provisional ballot that included personal information about Hunt and his family.
The document included the last four digits of Hunt's Social Security number, his driver's license ID number and a home address.
Matt Mackowiak, who serves as the communications director for Sen. John Cornyn's re-election campaign for U.S. Senate, posted the unredacted documents on his X account last Friday. Cornyn's campaign account then reposted the now-deleted images.
Sources from the Hunt campaign told Fox News Digital that when asked by a law enforcement officer if he would like to press charges, Hunt said yes.
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Harris County Constable Mark Herman's office confirmed a report had been filed.
A source from the Hunt campaign told Fox News Digital that law enforcement officials intend to subpoena X to retrieve the deleted post which showed Hunt's personal information.
Hunt accused Mackowiak and the Cornyn campaign of "doxxing" his family in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"The tragic situation involving Savannah Guthrie is a painful reminder of how vulnerable our family truly is," Hunt told Fox News Digital. "They should never be put in harm's way. And yet, that's exactly what happened to my family."
"Despite knowing how dangerous and irresponsible it is to doxx someone’s family, the Cornyn campaign did it to mine," Hunt added. "What happened to my family members should never happen to anyone."
Hunt also said Cornyn had not reached out since the post was published.
"Instead, his campaign’s actions put my family at risk, and they’ve chosen to look the other way," Hunt continued. "I will continue to pursue every legal avenue available to make sure my parents are safe and that those responsible are held accountable."
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Mackowiak, president of Potomac Strategy Group, pointed out to Fox News Digital that the documents are public, and that a record request made through the county clerk could provide the provisional ballot. He also pointed to a Daily Mail article, which published the unredacted documents on Saturday, one day after his post on X.
In the article, the publicly accessible photos are credited to the Cornyn campaign.
Prior to Mackowiak posting on X, the Hunt campaign shared the provisional ballot with the Houston Chronicle for an article that was published last Thursday, though the sensitive personal information was redacted.
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The controversy surrounding the ballot goes back to Hunt saying he had "supported President Trump since 2016," though no ballot was actually cast on Nov. 4 of that year because Hunt wasn't registered to vote at the time.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is also running against Hunt and Cornyn for the Senate seat, weighed in on the post, saying the Cornyn campaign is "cheering on his staff" for doxxing Hunt.
"I still can't believe that John Cornyn's senior staffer last night doxxed Wesley Hunt's family and posted his social security number on X and then Cornyn defended it," Paxton said in an initial statement on X.
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"The man who's made ‘character’ the centerpiece of his campaign is cheering on his staff doxxing his opponent's family," Paxton said in a separate post.
"Character does matter, but John's never had any and tonight proves that," Paxton added.
As for the police report, Republican Party of Texas General Counsel Rachel Hooper told Fox News Digital said publicizing the personal information "should be investigated."
"Over the past two years, we have witnessed multiple assassination attempts against President Trump and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Hooper told Fox News Digital.
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"As a former prosecutor and former deputy chief of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the public release of personal identifying information should be investigated and the safety of elected officials, candidates, and their families must be given the utmost priority," Hooper added.
But legal experts are skeptical that federal law and Texas Penal Code 42.074 would justify charges against Mackowiak.
"Laws criminalizing the posting of Social Security numbers, addresses, or other personal information are generally focused on situations in which the specific intent in posting the personal information was to doxx, intimidate, harass, or otherwise cause harm," former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told Fox News Digital.
"Specific intent crimes are often very difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, particularly where there appears to be a legitimate (potentially First Amendment protected) intent to post for the purpose of exposing political affiliations," Cherkasky explained.
Early voting for the GOP primary in Texas began Tuesday.
"I hope the Cornyn campaign takes this seriously," Hunt told Fox News Digital. "Because I do."