An AG so bad that he keeps losing in front of conservative courts when he is not evading subpoenas or cheating investors. Conservative Court Blocks Texas AG from Prosecuting Election Law Violations at Will. He Says the Ruling Is ‘Shameful.’ https://lawandcrime.com/2020-electi...tions-at-will-he-says-the-ruling-is-shameful/ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) slammed the Lone Star State’s highest criminal appeals court Wednesday for its “shameful decision” that his office lacks unilateral authority to prosecute fellow members of state government for election law violations. The all-Republican appeals court (eight of them elected and one appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott) ruled 8-1 that the Texas constitution’s separation of powers mandate blocks Paxton’s office from the kind of prosecutorial authority it desires. The case grew from the 2016 election of Democrat Zena Stephens, Texas’ first Black female sheriff. Stephens, the incumbent, defeated her Republican challenger in a county that narrowly voted in favor of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the same election. Paxton’s office, however, indicted Stephens in early 2018 for accepting excessive campaign donations. An FBI investigation found that Stephens received cash contributions in excess of $100 in violation of federal campaign-finance law. It referred its findings to the Texas Rangers, which presented the case to the Jefferson County District Attorney. That prosecutor’s office declined to prosecute Stephens, but Paxton pursued the case against Stephens independently. Paxton presented the case to a grand jury, secured a three-count indictment for tampering with government records and accepting unlawful contributions. Stephens succeeded in quashing the first count of the indictment on the grounds that the attorney general had no authority to independently prosecute criminal violations. The second two counts remained in place during the parties’ appeal, with Stephens arguing that any attempted delegation of authority to pursue election code infractions violated separation of powers. The Court of Criminal Appeals (the highest criminal appellate court in Texas) sided with Stephens on Wednesday, but did not issue a majority opinion. However, Judge Scott Walker authored a 12-page concurrence that laid out his take on the basis for the decision against Paxton. Walker explained that the court’s decision was rooted in its desire to protect the fairness of all elections. He wrote: It is possible that, in the not-too-distant future, a new politician could be elected as the Attorney General of Texas. If we ruled that the legislature could give the Attorney General the unfettered power to prosecute all election cases, we would be giving every future Attorney General the power to bring possibly fabricated criminal charges against every candidate running for public office in the State of Texas who disagrees with the Attorney General’s political ideals. The framers of the Texas constitution, said Walker, were “determined to reverse” the turmoil of Reconstruction, and “believed it was best” to clearly separate power into three distinct branches of government. As an executive branch official, said Walker, the attorney general is not a prosecutor. However, Walker pointed out, “the fact that the Attorney General does not have the authority to prosecute crimes, including Election Code offenses like voter fraud or campaign finance violations, does not mean that those crimes will invariably go unchecked.” Rather, he said, “The duly-elected district and county attorneys certainly can and should prosecute those cases.” For those who disagree with this system, Walker said, “The remedy is not for the courts to water down the Texas Constitution from the bench.” Rather, an amendment to the Texas constitution is what would be required. Paxton himself faces felony fraud charges pending in Collin County, Texas. The case against him alleges that Paxton lured investors into a stock deal without disclosing his personal interest while he was a member of the Texas legislature. Paxton has denied all wrongdoing. Earlier this week, Paxton made headlines for dodging a process server outside his home. The AG took exception to the suggestion that he knowingly fled to avoid being served with a subpoena to testify in an abortion-related lawsuit. (Article includes Tweets)
Ken Paxton isn't just great at political stunts and running from process servers, he's also pretty good at getting child rapists back on the streets as well. Dysfunction in Texas AG’s office as Paxton seeks third term https://apnews.com/article/election...0-ken-paxton-a1bdcfd0a9d25bd6aa3666b70f74f2b2 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s staff this month quietly dropped a series of human trafficking and child sexual assault cases after losing track of one of the victims, a stumble in open court emblematic of broader dysfunction inside one of America’s most prominent law offices. The Republican has elevated his national profile in recent years, energizing the right by rushing into contentious court battles that have affected people far beyond Texas. He has fought access to abortion, Democratic immigration policy and the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. But as Paxton seeks to fend off legal troubles and win a third term as Texas’ top law enforcement official, his agency has come unmoored by disarray behind the scenes, with seasoned lawyers quitting over practices they say aim to slant legal work, reward loyalists and drum out dissent. An Associated Press investigation found Paxton and his deputies have sought to turn cases to political advantage or push a broader political agenda, including staff screenings of a debunked film questioning the 2020 election. Adding to the unrest was the secretive firing of a Paxton supporter less than two months into his job as an agency advisor after he tried to make a point by displaying child pornography in a meeting. The AP’s account is based on hundreds of pages of records and interviews with more than two dozen current and former employees, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation or because they were not authorized to talk publicly. In the small town of Gatesville, the fallout was felt this month with the collapse of cases dubbed “Operation Fallen Angel.” Six of the people indicted last year on allegations that they were involved in a scheme to force teenage girls to “exchange sexual contact for crystal methamphetamine” are now free. One is being held in the central Texas community on other charges. An eighth died in jail. “It’s absolutely broken. It’s just broken. You don’t do it this way,” Republican District Attorney Dusty Boyd said of the attorney general’s office, which took over the cases from his five-lawyer team. “I made the mistake of trusting them that they would come in and do a good job.” Paxton and his staff did not respond to voicemails, text messages and email questions sent Tuesday. For years, Paxton has weathered a storm of troubles like few other elected officials in the U.S., including felony securities fraud charges and a federal investigation into accusations of corruption . He has broadly denied wrongdoing and remained popular with GOP voters, even while losing staff. One prosecutor said he quit in January after supervisors pressured him to withhold evidence in a murder case. Another attorney signed a resignation letter in March that warned of growing hostility toward LGBTQ employees. By August, records show the division over human trafficking cases — a major emphasis in Texas, where more than 50 migrants died in the back of a trailer in June — had a job vacancy rate of 40%. “When you’re experiencing the type of climactic upheaval in an office, which affects agency-client relationships and trust, there’s naturally going to be a lot of movement among staff,” said Ron Del Vento, who served as a division chief under Paxton and four previous Texas attorneys general before retiring in 2019. “Collateral damage is inevitable,” he said. The latest departures are aftershocks of an extraordinary revolt in autumn 2020, when eight of Paxton’s top deputies accused the attorney general of using the office to help a political donor who employed a woman with whom Paxton acknowledged having had an extramarital affair. The deputies all quit or were fired after going to the FBI, which opened an investigation that remains ongoing. In America’s largest red state, the accusations have not given GOP voters pause about Paxton, who carried Donald Trump’s endorsement into again winning his party’s nomination. Paxton faces Democratic challenger Rochelle Garza, a first-time candidate and former ACLU attorney, in the November election. “He’s been one of the greatest attorneys general for the state of Texas and one of the most conservative ones in the entire country,” said Abraham George, chairman of the Collin County Republican Party, adding that Paxton deserves the same presumption of innocence as any other American. After the dramatic exit of Paxton’s top staff in 2020, those brought into senior roles included a California attorney who donated $10,000 to help Paxton fight his 2015 securities fraud indictment and Tom Kelly Gleason, a former ice cream company owner whose father gave $50,000 to the attorney general’s legal defense fund. Gleason was fired less than two months into his new job as a law enforcement adviser. Paxton’s office has not disclosed why, but three people with knowledge of the matter said Gleason included child pornography in a work presentation at the agency’s Austin headquarters. The people said Gleason displayed the video — which one of them described as showing a man raping a small child — in a misguided effort to underscore agency investigators difficult work. It was met with outrage and caused the meeting to quickly dissolve. Afterward, Paxton’s top deputy, Brent Webster, told staff not to talk about what happened, according to one of the people. Gleason, who began his career as a police officer in the late 1970s, did not respond to voicemails, text messages, emails and letters left at this home and business. A lawyer who has represented him also did not respond to an email seeking comment. As of August, payroll data show the number of assistant attorneys general — the line lawyers who handle daily case and litigation work — in the criminal prosecutions division was down more than 25% from two years ago. The data, which was obtained under public records law, show the group that handles financial and white-collar cases was cut by more than half and merged with another division. “This is scary to me for the people of Texas,” said Linda Eads, who served as a deputy attorney general in the early 2000s, when she said it was rare for any division to have more than two or three vacancies. Boyd said staff turnover in Paxton’s human trafficking unit contributed to the collapse of the cases in Gatesville. In the last two years, Republican lawmakers have doubled the division’s budget to $3 million, but Boyd questioned whether it was well spent. On Sept. 13, the attorney general’s staff wrote in court papers that they were dismissing three trafficking cases because a witness had recanted and dropping the other four because they were “unable to locate victim.” “For Pete’s sake, you’re the AG’s office. You can’t find the victim?” Boyd said. “The culture is broken.” Bill Turner, who spent five years in the office under Paxton, said he quit in January after senior leaders tried to prevent him from turning over evidence to the defense in a murder prosecution. He would not discuss specifics, saying that could affect ongoing work related to the case. “We had a difference of opinion on the ethical obligations of a prosecutor and I didn’t feel like I could continue working in that environment,” said Turner, who was previously an elected Democratic district attorney in Texas. Two months later, assistant attorney general Jason Scully-Clemmons left the same division, accusing a new wave of executives in his resignation letter of “directing prosecutors to prioritize political considerations.” He also said the environment had grown hostile to LGBTQ employees around the time Paxton issued a legal opinion that set in motion child abuse investigations into the parents of transgender youth in Texas. Several other employees told AP that before Texas’ March primary elections, Amber Platt, a deputy over criminal justice cases, convened a meeting to ask about upcoming cases that would help Paxton’s reelection prospects. Scully-Clemmons, who declined to comment, referred to the meeting in his letter. In May, the head of Paxton’s election integrity division invited his team to a movie theater for a screening of “2000 Mules,” the debunked film that falsely claims to prove the 2020 election was stolen. “General Paxton will be present, among others, and I think they would love to have a good showing from our office,” assistant attorney general Jonathan White wrote in an email. As senior lawyers have been leaving the attorney general’s office, newcomers who’ve stuck by Paxton have seen their careers and compensation skyrocket. Aaron Reitz, who finished law school in 2017, was hired as an aide to Paxton’s top deputy at a salary of $135,000 in October 2020. The next month, after the deputy reported Paxton to the FBI and quit, Reitz was promoted to oversee agency legal strategy, a senior job making $205,000. In June, Reitz’s assistant sent out invitations to a “2000 Mules viewing party,” complete with barbecue. More than 90 staff and interns were later told to bring their own lunch.
Texas attorney general who tried to flee abortion subpoena ordered to testify Republican Ken Paxton allegedly escaped home and jumped into truck driven by his wife to avoid being served by subpoena https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ney-general-ken-paxton-abortion-case-subpoena
How bad is the current Texas AG? Well in endorsing his challenger the Dallas Morning News said: "There is little we can find to recommend Rochelle Garza for attorney general except that she is not Ken Paxton. Frankly, that's enough". Our recommendation for Texas attorney general Republican Ken Paxton faces Democrat Rochelle Garza. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/...ur-recommendation-for-texas-attorney-general/
The latest about this clown... Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton negotiates settlement with his former deputies over retaliation lawsuit Three of Paxton’s four former employees who sued him for unjustly firing them when they reported his actions to authorities are considering settling with the attorney general. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/31/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-settlement-whistleblowers/
Paxton has settled with three former employees. Sadly the money comes from taxpayers. The question becomes why is the FBI not taking action in regards to the obvious crimes they reported. Texas AG settles with former aides who reported him to FBI https://apnews.com/article/politics...xas-business-3b51a7a61f2ad98eabcdfbad68ba5317 DALLAS (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money to four former staffers who accused him of corruption in 2020, igniting an ongoing FBI investigation of the three-term Republican. Under terms of a preliminary lawsuit settlement filed Friday, Paxton made no admission of wrongdoing to accusations of bribery and abuse of office, which he has denied for years and called politically motivated. But Paxton did commit to making a remarkable public apology toward some of his formerly trusted advisers whom he fired or forced out after they reported him to the FBI. He called them “rogue employees” after they accused Paxton of misusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom the attorney general acknowledged having an extramarital affair. Both sides signed a mediated agreement that was filed in the Texas Supreme Court and will be followed by a longer, formalized settlement. “Attorney General Ken Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a manner that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as ‘rogue employees,’” the final settlement must state, according to court records. In all, eight members of Paxton’s senior staff joined in the extraordinary revolt in 2020, and they either resigned or were fired. The attorney general said he settled with the four who sued under Texas’ whistleblower law to put to rest “this unfortunate sideshow.” “I have chosen this path to save taxpayer dollars and ensure my third term as attorney general is unburdened by unnecessary distractions,” Paxton said in a statement. The $3.3 million payout would not come from Paxton’s own pocket but from state funds, which means it would still require approval by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature. Settlement of the case, which Paxton’s office fought in court for years, means he will avoid sitting for a civil deposition at a time when a corruption investigation by federal agents and prosecutors remains open. In turn, the attorney general’s office agreed to remove an October 2020 news release from its website that decries Paxton’s accusers and to issue the statement of contrition to former staffers David Maxwell, Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and James Blake Brickman. “The whistleblowers sacrificed their jobs and have spent more than two years fighting for what is right,” said Maxwell’s lawyer, TJ Turner. Brickman was not part of the mediation with Paxton’s office but joined the settlement, attorney Tom Nesbitt said, after being asked to and negotiating “significant non-monetary terms.” The settlement also prevents Paxton from seeking the withdrawal of a 2021 appeals court ruling that state whistleblower law applies to the attorney general. The agreement does not include any provisions limiting the ability of Paxton’s accusers to make public statements or cooperate with federal investigators. The deal comes more than two years after Paxton’s staff accused him of misusing his office to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, whose business was also under federal investigation. The allegations centered on Paxton hiring an outside lawyer to investigate Paul’s claims of misconduct by the FBI. Paxton and Paul have broadly denied wrongdoing and neither has been charged with a federal crime. In the wake of the revolt, an Associated Press investigation in September found that Paxton’s agency has come unmoored, with seasoned lawyers quitting over practices they say slant legal work, reward loyalists and drum out dissent. But the investigation, accusations and a separate 2015 securities fraud indictment for which Paxton has yet to face trial have done little to hurt him politically. He easily defeated challenger George P. Bush in a contested GOP primary last spring, went on to decisively beat his Democratic opponent and secure a third term in November and has filed a steady stream of legal challenges to the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. While swearing in Paxton to another four years on the job last month, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott described it as an easy call during the midterm elections to keep backing him. “I supported Ken Paxton because I thought the way he was running the attorney general’s office was the right way to run the attorney general’s office,” said Abbott.
Tired of the stalling by federal prosecutors in TX, DOJ yanks the corruption investigation back home. Justice Dept. in DC taking over Texas AG corruption probe https://apnews.com/article/politics...-texas-crime-e3cbc749a3e5ee1f75957df8a77401f4 Justice Department officials in Washington have taken over the corruption investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, removing the case from the hands of the federal prosecutors in Texas who’d long been leading the probe. The move was disclosed in a statement by state prosecutors handling their own case against Paxton. It’s the latest development in the federal investigation into the attorney general, who came under FBI scrutiny in 2020 after his own top deputies accused him of bribery and abusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom Paxton acknowledged having had an extramarital affair. The investigation of the three-term Republican is now being led by the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, which prosecutes allegations of official misconduct against elected leaders at the local, state and federal level. The U.S. attorney’s office in Texas was recently recused from the complex case after working on it for years — an abrupt change that came within days of Paxton agreeing to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money to four of the former staffers who reported him to the FBI. State prosecutors working on a separate securities fraud case against Paxton — Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer — said in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday that they were notified of the move. They referred all questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment. It’s not known whether Paxton will face charges, although federal investigators in Texas who had worked the case believed there was sufficient evidence for an indictment, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing probe. It was not immediately clear what prompted top Justice Department officials to recuse the federal prosecutors in West Texas but the move was pushed for by Paxton’s attorneys. One of his defense lawyers, Dan Cogdell, said Thursday that he’d previously appealed to agency officials to take the case out of the hands of the local U.S. attorney’s office, which he said had “an obvious conflict” because of the overlapping allegations and investigations that led to the probe of Paxton. Eight of Paxton’s senior staff accused him of crimes in 2020 after the attorney general hired an outside lawyer to look into an Austin real-estate developer’s claims of wrongdoing by FBI agents and federal prosecutors who were separately investigating the developer. Those agents and lawyers are part of the same federal prosecutorial district as the ones who came to investigate Paxton. “It was the right thing to do,” said Cogdell. He said federal officials had not informed him of the move and declined to comment further. The overlap was known to officials within the Justice Department and publicly reported on by the AP within weeks of Paxton’s staff going to the FBI. Nonetheless, the agency left the investigation to be led by a career federal prosecutor based in San Antonio, who was previously best known for winning a money laundering and fraud case against a Democratic state senator. Edward Loya Jr., a former prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section who now works as a defense lawyer, said in a text message to the AP that it was customary for the unit “to take over a high-profile investigation concerning a state-wide elected official because those cases often involve actual or potential conflicts that make it impossible for a local U.S. Attorney’s Office to handle such investigations.” He said it was “totally normal” for the Washington-based section to assume responsibility of a local case like the Paxton one. The federal investigation of Paxton expanded in the years since his former staff told the FBI he was committing crimes to help the developer, Nate Paul. It came to look at renovations made to Paxton’s million-dollar home, but was also drawn out as leadership of the U.S. attorney’s office for West Texas has repeatedly changed. Paxton and Paul have broadly denied wrongdoing. Over those years, Paxton has seen little political cost from the the federal investigation and the separate 2015 securities fraud indictment for which he has yet to face trial. He easily defeated challenger George P. Bush in a contested GOP primary last spring, went on to decisively beat his Democratic opponent and secure a third term in November and has filed a steady stream of legal challenges to the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. The Public Integrity Section has brought a series of high-profile prosecutions in the last decades. One of its former chiefs, Jack Smith, is now serving as the Justice Department special counsel overseeing investigations of former President Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents as well as efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 election. Although the unit has secured major convictions, it has also endured notable setbacks. FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a rally featuring former President Donald Trump, Oct. 22, 2022, in Robstown, Texas. Justice Department officials in Washington have taken over the corruption investigation into Paxton, removing the case from the hands of the federal prosecutors in Texas who had long been leading the probe, according to state prosecutors. (AP Photo/Nick Wagner, File) DALLAS (AP) — Justice Department officials in Washington have taken over the corruption investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, removing the case from the hands of the federal prosecutors in Texas who’d long been leading the probe. The move was disclosed in a statement by state prosecutors handling their own case against Paxton. It’s the latest development in the federal investigation into the attorney general, who came under FBI scrutiny in 2020 after his own top deputies accused him of bribery and abusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom Paxton acknowledged having had an extramarital affair. The investigation of the three-term Republican is now being led by the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, which prosecutes allegations of official misconduct against elected leaders at the local, state and federal level. The U.S. attorney’s office in Texas was recently recused from the complex case after working on it for years — an abrupt change that came within days of Paxton agreeing to apologize and pay $3.3 million in taxpayer money to four of the former staffers who reported him to the FBI. ADVERTISEMENT State prosecutors working on a separate securities fraud case against Paxton — Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer — said in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday that they were notified of the move. They referred all questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment. Politics Biden's Trump-focused campaign could be risky if GOP shifts Fetterman draws praise for getting help for depression Romney, outspoken about his own party, weighs reelection run After serving in CIA, lawmaker now has role overseeing it It’s not known whether Paxton will face charges, although federal investigators in Texas who had worked the case believed there was sufficient evidence for an indictment, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing probe. It was not immediately clear what prompted top Justice Department officials to recuse the federal prosecutors in West Texas but the move was pushed for by Paxton’s attorneys. One of his defense lawyers, Dan Cogdell, said Thursday that he’d previously appealed to agency officials to take the case out of the hands of the local U.S. attorney’s office, which he said had “an obvious conflict” because of the overlapping allegations and investigations that led to the probe of Paxton. ADVERTISEMENT Eight of Paxton’s senior staff accused him of crimes in 2020 after the attorney general hired an outside lawyer to look into an Austin real-estate developer’s claims of wrongdoing by FBI agents and federal prosecutors who were separately investigating the developer. Those agents and lawyers are part of the same federal prosecutorial district as the ones who came to investigate Paxton. “It was the right thing to do,” said Cogdell. He said federal officials had not informed him of the move and declined to comment further. The overlap was known to officials within the Justice Department and publicly reported on by the AP within weeks of Paxton’s staff going to the FBI. Nonetheless, the agency left the investigation to be led by a career federal prosecutor based in San Antonio, who was previously best known for winning a money laundering and fraud case against a Democratic state senator. ADVERTISEMENT Edward Loya Jr., a former prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section who now works as a defense lawyer, said in a text message to the AP that it was customary for the unit “to take over a high-profile investigation concerning a state-wide elected official because those cases often involve actual or potential conflicts that make it impossible for a local U.S. Attorney’s Office to handle such investigations.” He said it was “totally normal” for the Washington-based section to assume responsibility of a local case like the Paxton one. The federal investigation of Paxton expanded in the years since his former staff told the FBI he was committing crimes to help the developer, Nate Paul. It came to look at renovations made to Paxton’s million-dollar home, but was also drawn out as leadership of the U.S. attorney’s office for West Texas has repeatedly changed. ADVERTISEMENT Paxton and Paul have broadly denied wrongdoing. Over those years, Paxton has seen little political cost from the the federal investigation and the separate 2015 securities fraud indictment for which he has yet to face trial. He easily defeated challenger George P. Bush in a contested GOP primary last spring, went on to decisively beat his Democratic opponent and secure a third term in November and has filed a steady stream of legal challenges to the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. The Public Integrity Section has brought a series of high-profile prosecutions in the last decades. One of its former chiefs, Jack Smith, is now serving as the Justice Department special counsel overseeing investigations of former President Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents as well as efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 election. Although the unit has secured major convictions, it has also endured notable setbacks. ADVERTISEMENT The section was involved in prosecuting former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, but the Supreme Court later overturned his bribery conviction. The section also prosecuted former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards, but a jury acquitted him on one count and deadlocked on others. The Justice Department declined to try him again. A jury also deadlocked in the case of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, prompting a judge to declare a mistrial.