Based on hundreds of emails and text messages between District Attorney Joe Gonzales' office and Wren, KSAT reported that the "mysterious" outside group "wields significant influence" on the office. The station also gave air time to Gonzales' political enemies — including Meredith Chacon, a former prosecutor who ran against him as a Republican in 2022, and the head of San Antonio's powerful police union — who suggested the relationship was unethical, if not illegal.
However, people familiar with the inner workings of prosecutors' offices say DAs frequently turn to outside help on issues ranging from messaging to data analysis to specialized legal work. Sometimes the offices even rack up substantial bills doing so.
"The position [of district attorney] is political. They need to get elected, and they need their constituencies to support them," said Jennifer Balboni, a professor of criminal justice and sociology at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts. "It makes sense for them to turn to outside groups to make sure they can communicate with the public."
In the case of Wren, Gonzales said his office consults with the group strictly on messaging and communications strategy, adding that it has no input on how it tries cases or which charges it pursues or drops. What's more, Wren's work for the office is unpaid, he added.
Since being elected in 2019, Gonzales has implemented reformist policies including a cite-and-release program that lets cops decide whether to ticket people for nonviolent, low-level offenses rather than haul them to jail. He also created the office's first civil rights division, which investigates in-custody deaths, police shootings and excessive force cases.
While Balboni said she sees nothing alarming about Gonzales' relationship with Wren, she said she's unsurprised to see it weaponized against a reform-minded DA.
In the wake of high-profile police use-of-force cases such as the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, voters nationwide have elected more progressive DAs, according to experts.
The response from police unions, right-wing media and some elected officials has been to paint those prosecutors as puppets of outside influences who want them to be "soft on crime," Balboni said.
Conservative media regularly refer to reformist DAs as "Soros-backed," for example, to invoke the name liberal donor George Soros, a boogeyman in GOP circles. The professor also points to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' controversial suspension of two progressive prosecutors as an example of the right's ongoing pushback.
But experts note that the use of outside consultants isn't unique to progressive DAs such as Gonzales.
The conservative Heritage Foundation regularly consults with Republican prosecutors, and the National District Attorneys Association gives training and technical help to its 5,500 member offices nationwide. Close to home, San Antonio public relations firm KGB Texas includes the Harris County District Attorney's Office among its clients.
'Up the road'
In recent interviews with the Current, both Gonzales and Wren founder Jessica Brand said KSAT's coverage mischaracterizes their relationship.
Gonzales said he became familiar with Brand because she supported his first run for the office. He said it made sense for his office to seek messaging input from a group with Texas ties, especially since Wren has done the same for DAs in Dallas and Travis counties.
"To be honest with you, she was the closest," Gonzales said. "I mean, she was out of Austin, so it was easier to communicate with her, because she was up the road, up I-35, as opposed to somebody in New York or California."
Although Brand is an attorney, she said neither she nor anyone on her staff has provided legal guidance to Gonzales' office. None of the communications so far reported on by KSAT appear to include instances where Gonzales or his staffer seek the group's legal counsel.
"I'm proud of the work we did for that office," Brand said. "I worry about everyone who takes one of these offices, because the vitriol that comes from the right is so scary, and it's so not based in fact."
'Lack of oversight'
In comments to KSAT, John "Danny" Diaz, president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association, warned that Gonzales' interactions with Wren could put the DA afoul of Texas' recently adopted "rogue prosecutors law." That measure lets the state remove local prosecutors for refusing to prosecute statutes passed by legislature.
However, in comments to the Current, Diaz said he hasn't seen the actual text messages and emails, only KSAT's reporting on them. He also said any attempt to remove Gonzales' via the new Texas law would ultimately come down to whether the DA is pursuing charges and not on his office's consultation with Wren.
To that end, SAPOA is now investigating whether Gonzales' track record opens him up for such a challenge.
"We're looking up data on his releases, the amount of releases and dismissals that he's done on weapons charges, that are outright dismissed, the amount of cases that he pleads out for felonies to get a conviction on a misdemeanor for lesser offenses, for lesser jail time," Diaz said.
Even if Gonzales' relationship with Wren isn't legally problematic, Diaz said it shows a lack of leadership.
"From our standpoint, from a citizen standpoint, he was elected to run the office, not the Wren group," Diaz said. "What does that show? From our standpoint, it's a lack of oversight and a lack of leadership, where you're going outside to request how to work these cases."
Campaign concerns
However, Gonzales and his defenders argue he's not consulting with Wren about how to "work cases." Instead, he's sought help on how to communicate to the public about them.
One attorney familiar with Wren's work said if Gonzales has any fault in the matter it's that didn't push back more forcefully. That attorney, who asked not to be named for fear of political blowback, said the story blew up not because of its substance but because of the DA's initially tepid response.
"The correct answer was: 'Like every official, I seek out help from smart issue experts,'" said the attorney. "'We are proud and privileged to get support from Wren Collective.'"
Even so, Gonzales said Wren will have faded from voters' memories by the time he's up for reelection in 2026. He accuses SAPOA of misrepresenting the group's work because the union's membership is angry he created a civil rights division.
"My attitude is I'm three years away from the next election cycle, and we will see [SAPOA] in three years," Gonzales said. "But again, I have concluded that what they're doing is campaigning early against me. Where before they tried to recruit a Republican opponent, I think this time they're going to try and recruit a Democrat challenger."
Whether that holds true, recent history suggests Gonzales may not have much to worry about from voters — just his detractors on the right, according to Curry College's Balboni.
"At this point, the public sees to be more amenable to the message of reform," she said. "For the most part, they're reelecting [progressive DAs]. Does that mean the headwinds are going to stop? Probably not."
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