Overview
Aaron F. Reitz served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas in November 2026. His public November 11 letter to Sen. Richard Blumenthal concerned a Senate investigation into private funding of President Trump's White House ballroom.
November 2026 actions
Reitz posted a records-preservation demand to Blumenthal on X. News reporting said Reitz argued that inquiries targeting donors' association with President Trump could infringe constitutional rights. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter publicly defended the First Amendment argument. Blumenthal rejected Reitz's characterization and sent his own signed letter demanding preservation of communications about the decision to draft and post Reitz's warning.
What the records do and do not show
Reitz's public warning and Blumenthal's signed reply are documented; the private drafting or approval history is not. The available materials do not establish who directed the post, whether prosecutors opened a formal investigation, or whether any donor received government favors. A preservation request is not proof of improper conduct.
Campaign communications and DOJ policy experience
In a public Senate Judiciary questionnaire, Reitz identified himself as a senior adviser to Ken Paxton's 2022 campaign and Ted Cruz's 2024 campaign, explaining that his work included advising their political communications teams on messaging strategies and tactics. His DOJ biography documents service as Paxton's deputy attorney general for legal strategy, Cruz's chief of staff and head of DOJ's Office of Legal Policy before his July 2026 U.S. attorney appointment. The July 13 federal-court appointment order records his appointment under 28 U.S.C. § 546(d). Experience advising campaign messaging is a documented professional fact, not proof that any November 2026 prosecutor's message was directed by a campaign or White House official.
Trent McCotter — DOJ leadership · See the records and oversight case file
Sources
Reported allegations and legal positions are attributed. Inclusion in this reference archive is not an allegation of wrongdoing.