Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican of Texas, on Friday, the Justice Department began investigating planned housing developments outside of Dallas.
Cornyn, who will face Texas solid attorney general Ken Paxton, is the newest Texan Republican to challenge the development of a rural town in Josephine, Texas, in what could become a fierce Republican contest for his own Senate seat next year.
The project is supported by members of the East Plano Islamic Centre, a Plano mosque about 20 miles from Josephine, and is under intense scrutiny from Republicans, including Governor Greg Abbott, who accused planners of trying to create Muslim communities exclusively and impose Islamic law on their residents.
Over the past few months, Abbott has directed several state agencies to investigate the development known as Epic City, suggesting that it may have violated the Fair Housing and Financial Act, and that the Islamic Centre had held illegal funerals at the mosque.
Paxton has also launched a criminal investigation.
Now, Cornyn is calling for a federal investigation. Cornyn hopes the Department of Justice will investigate whether Muslim developers are engaged in religious discrimination. A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Religious discrimination and Sharia laws don't have a home in Texas,” Cornyn wrote on social media Friday. “A violation of federal law must be prosecuted promptly.”
The East Plano Islamic Centre, or the epic lawyer, denied any misconduct by the mosque or those raising money for the development. Construction has not begun, and no permission has been issued to start the building.
“Epic does nothing illegal. We will fully cooperate with any investigation,” attorney Dan Cogdell said in a statement. “The Texans will be far better with good senators, rather than solving real problems and twisting themselves into imaginary pretzels.”
Paxton made it clear that he would try to resolve Cornyn by courting the right voters. Cornyn responded by highlighting his conservative qualifications and aligning himself with President Trump.
