What’s the Truth with Ken Paxton?

 

Legal and ethical troubles have swirled around Ken Paxton since he assumed office as Texas state attorney general in 2014, when I was still living in Texas. There’s no doubt he is a hard-charging, conservative attorney general. He’s creative in developing strategies for frustrating and attacking liberals, and he’s not afraid to take on controversial issues. He’s done a lot of good for the conservative cause, but he’s also made a lot of enemies in Texas because of his style.

The first issue is whether he took an illegal commission when he sold stock in a company. A federal court dismissed the SEC case against him twice, and it is dead. But he was indicted on state securities charges in 2015, and that case has dragged on with endless procedural motions, including two changes of venue and disputes over paying the special prosecutors. With the SEC charges dismissed, it’s hard for me to believe that this is anything but a political persecution by liberal Austin prosecutors, but there has been enough back and forth in the case that it is hard to know.

The second issue is whether he took bribes from Nate Paul, an Austin real estate developer, and did favors for Paul. In 2020, this blew up when seven members of his state AG office wrote a public letter alleging corruption by Paxton. All seven left the AG office, either voluntarily or under pressure. Four of them sued for illegal dismissal, and Paxton reached a $3.3 million settlement of taxpayer money with them, which the state legislature refused to fund. This is the main issue that has blown up into the impeachment inquiry. Again, there has been so much he-said, she-said that it’s hard to know what is true.

Finally, the Texas state bar is investigating him for issues related to “overturning” the 2020 election, but it’s hard for me to take these as a serious threat in a conservative state like Texas.

With all the charges and counter-charges, it’s hard even for someone like me who has followed the cases from a distance to know who is right. Liberal Democrats have certainly played a role. But there’s no doubt that personal animosity and internal Republican power struggles in Texas are also involved.

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  1. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    I’m curious about this too. Thanks for clarifying it.

    • #1
  2. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    It all seems political to me.  This is modern lawfare, where Paxton sues to stop Democrats and they sue to stop him. 

    • #2
  3. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast

    One more comment – best case scenario the way Paxton handled the Paul corruption allegations was terrible optics and a strategic mistake. Even if he did nothing wrong and even if it was all liberal career AG staff attacking him, forcing out the whistleblowers and then reaching a huge settlement with them with taxpayer money looks terrible. It gave his moderate Republican enemies in the state legislature a huge opening because they had to approve funding the settlement, which they refused to do. And it opened him up to all kinds of legal charges and impeachment, whether justified or not.

    • #3
  4. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

    It’s hard for non-Texans to understand what a gigantic cohort of Texas Republicans are the same people who would have been Democrats until the mid 90’s.  One downside of one party rule is that all the grifters know where the to go, and they have learned the right words to say. We have had a long line of moderate/centrist speakers who hate movement conservatives.  I just saw a Joe Strauss editorial the other day chastising the Republican party yet again.  He was probably the worst of the bunch but it’s been an unbroken line of speakers hostile to actual conservatives.

     

    • #4
  5. Ole Summers Member
    Ole Summers
    @OleSummers

    The current Speaker has been a slight improvement over the Strauss era but he was still owns his election to the position to the Dems who joined the moderates of the GOP who dont like to rattle the status quo. The Texas House has always been where conservative legislation goes to die or at least be gelded. 

    This Speaker and Paxton have little use for each other with style certainly being one factor. The Senate for the most part has stopped up and sent plenty of measures to the House. Now with time running out the decision has been made to pursue this instead of acting on measures involving school choices, gender operations for minor children, border security, etc. They will be left to die on the table. 

    The legacy GOP, or commercial conservatives, or whatever you decide to call them distain a real fight for conservative issues. Regardless what one can say  about Paxton’s style or personality, he fights, and the state as a whole as well as grassroots citizens have been better served than they have often been before. 

    It is important for those who proclaim their conservative values to accept that those values have to be both protected and advanced. And that neither will happen (or has happened) with the standard approach of the past. One doesn’t have to personally like someone who fulfills their responsibility to fight to win. 

    There are a couple down there who have told me they believe that it is important to the GOPe fraction to make this appear as a Republican led movement and so it might not be voted on since they would not get as many R as they would D. But make no mistake the establishment types would love to hit Paxton and put the grass roots in their place. 

    They would need only 12 R votes for the measure of impeachment to pass by a majority in the House. I believe that although it is not their first choice, they will vote to impeach because they want to put that stick in the eye. We will see. 

    It would take a 2/3 vote in the Senate to convict but by the Texas Constitution Paxton would be suspended from office awaiting the Senate trial. That might well slow down the law suits against the feds that the AG office has on-going. 

    • #5
  6. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    Impeached.   All the Dems and half the GOP

    • #6
  7. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

    DonG (CAGW is a Scam) (View Comment):

    Impeached. All the Dems and half the GOP

    If I read that correctly Ellen Troxclair has no idea how much crap she is in for from her non Austin constituents.

    • #7
  8. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast

    DonG (CAGW is a Scam) (View Comment):

    Impeached. All the Dems and half the GOP

    GOP voted 60-23 in favor of impeachment, which tells me it wasn’t just a personality clash. Dems 61-0 for impeachment. All 5 of the reps from Paxton’s home country of Collins voted to impeach.

    Cruz was the only statewide official to defend Paxton, and even he didn’t say Paxton was innocent but that voters had already seen the evidence and decided to re-elect him and that their will should be respected.

    • #8
  9. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    Tex929rr (View Comment):
    If I read that correctly Ellen Troxclair has no idea how much crap she is in for from her non Austin constituents.

    That was a bit surprising.   She is middle-of-road GOP, which tells us where Paxton stands. 

    • #9
  10. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast

    The Texas is Senate is 19-12 GOP, and they will need 2/3 to remove him. Assuming all 12 Dems vote to convict, they will need 8 of 19 Republicans to remove him.

    • #10
  11. Ole Summers Member
    Ole Summers
    @OleSummers

    I will say these few things about the Paxton impeachment. RINO type Republicans (or whatever term one wishes to use) will for the most part select what they sell out on. And they certainly hate measures or individuals which hold them to their stated (for election purposes) conservative principles. They are made uncomfortable by aggressive conservative actions. They prefer measured actions which contain hidden poison pills and stumbling blocks which have little effect on the status quo, which they profit from one way or another (sometimes only in their own minds). A bill to restrict the chemical castration of children died not because of leftist protestors but the deliberate, and quietly unnoticed, inaction of one House member from a pretty red area west of the Metro-Mess that is DFW. 

    Despite the national attention of the governor, the two most effective and consistent forces for conservative action in the state has come from the AG and the Lt. Governor. They both have been not just been consistent but creative and determined. There has been no stronger, or active, voice for election integrity than the AG. 

    In large part, the chaos election of 2020 might have been avoided except for the non-sensical (to my simple mind) “no standing” ruling about the suit which Paxton spear-headed. Unconstitutional held nation elections in one (or in this case several) state affects all. 

    One of the things disrupted by aggressive, principled action is political comfort. The Paxton camp was not invited or allowed to take part in the closed door hearing of evidence before the vote. It is an easy vote for those who can always say they were “just allowing the process to go forward”. 

    It will take 21 votes to convict in the with 19 of the members being GOP. In the meanwhile, not just the law suits against a corrupt and negligent federal government will probably be halted but also the strongest fighter for cleaning up voter rolls before 2024. If one believes that all the GOP has to do is get better at ballot harvesting and find a kinder, gentler voice, they have indeed been fooled. Perhaps by their own choice.

    • #11
  12. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    Ole Summers (View Comment):
    Despite the national attention of the governor, the two most effective and consistent forces for conservative action in the state has come from the AG and the Lt. Governor. They both have been not just been consistent but creative and determined. There has been no stronger, or active, voice for election integrity than the AG. 

    ^^FACTS^^

    I am now curious about the mystery details of the impeachment.   What does “help remodel” mean?   Did the friend give the phone number for a good contractor or pay for everything?   What does “access” mean?  Did they go hunting once or did the AG bury some cases?  

    • #12
  13. Ole Summers Member
    Ole Summers
    @OleSummers

    DonG (CAGW is a Scam) (View Comment):

    Ole Summers (View Comment):
    Despite the national attention of the governor, the two most effective and consistent forces for conservative action in the state has come from the AG and the Lt. Governor. They both have been not just been consistent but creative and determined. There has been no stronger, or active, voice for election integrity than the AG.

    ^^FACTS^^

    I am now curious about the mystery details of the impeachment. What does “help remodel” mean? Did the friend give the phone number for a good contractor or pay for everything? What does “access” mean? Did they go hunting once or did the AG bury some cases?

    From what I can tell at this point, and from several years of investigation on several fronts, most of the discussion is about $25,000 of contributions by Paul and that Paxton actually had the FBI investigated when they raided Paul’s Austin home with zero results and seemingly little reason. Those are then tied to different ruling which might have favored Paul’s business. But from what I can gather at this point the rulings I have seen were pretty tight as far as the law is concerned. 

    If there is something hiding in the weeds, I am not sure. What I do know is what Paxton’s public record is in regard to the job he does and in that regard we need a lot more of those so turned. We will have to see about the rest of it. 

    • #13
  14. David C. Broussard Coolidge
    David C. Broussard
    @Dbroussa

    Ole Summers (View Comment):
    the two most effective and consistent forces for conservative action in the state has come from the AG and the Lt. Governor

    While I agree with you on the AG, Dan Patrick has been an embarrassment because he has never been able to actually enact the policies that he initially ran on for the Senate. It’s hard to see that he has even tried to enact property tax reform. Yes, he has focused on red meat issues that don’t address the underlying economic issues of the State but make for good sound bites. If all he can do is fight cultural battles then he isn’t a good Lt Gov. He should be able to also enact policies especially if he runs on them. Patrick ran for the Senate first in 2006 and has served since Jan of 2007…and we still have a 10% cap on property tax appraisal increases. 

    I don’t know if Paxton should or will be convicted, I suspect he will. The Texas Republican party is anemic necause its infested with moderate to liberals who call themselves Republicans to get elected. Even so, the State appears to be moving towards elected Democrats in the true progressive sense of thr word as opposed to just the traditional sense. Patrick with his focus on solely cultural misses to rile up his base and male them forget that he doesn’t deliver on his campaign promises is hated by the Left and eventually the non-aligned will oust him for some Democrat just because he only ponders to his base and doesn’t make their loves better. 

    Paxton has done a decent job in election integrity, especially in stopping Harris County from allowing drive through voting, but he has also missed. In my little town, a felon ran for mayor and got elected. He didn’t reveal his conviction and when it was found out the AG’s office was asked if he was in violation of the Texas law that prohibits felons from holding public office. His office said that it was illegal, but that they weren’t going to do anything about it. They didn’t issue a binding legal opinion either which allowed the city attorney to tell the city council that the legal situation was unclear. Eventually, after he was re-elected, the AG reached a pleasant deal with him to not run again and plead to a new felony conviction. Would have been so much easier if they had simply issued that opinion earlier. 

    • #14
  15. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    DonG (CAGW is a Scam) (View Comment):

    Impeached. All the Dems and half the GOP

    GOP voted 60-23 in favor of impeachment, which tells me it wasn’t just a personality clash. Dems 61-0 for impeachment. All 5 of the reps from Paxton’s home country of Collins voted to impeach.

    Cruz was the only statewide official to defend Paxton, and even he didn’t say Paxton was innocent but that voters had already seen the evidence and decided to re-elect him and that their will should be respected.

    It’s Collin County, thank you.

    • #15
  16. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    I’m not a big fan of Paxton.  His stand on a lot of issues repel me.  

    One thing, though that people should never forget about Texas is that it was dominated by the democrat party until just as recently as when George W. Bush was elected governor.  He was only the second republican elected as governor since Reconstruction.  Democrats still are there, inches from taking any office.  They dominate almost all of the large cities, most especially Austin where republicans never even bother to run for offices.  You can’t win if you don’t enter the race.  

    • #16
  17. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    Makes me sick. 

    With the media barrage that hunts down any standup conservative these days, there is no excuse to equivocating and I don’t care what the optics are now, because largely those optics are propaganda concocted  by the media. 

    “It all seems political to me.  This is modern lawfare, where Paxton sues to stop Democrats and they sue to stop him”

    Damn Straight. . This  is simply a political witch hunt against a conservative masquerading as some sort ethics inquiry. We saw this against Trump and until this tactic is slammed hard to the ground and beaten to a bloody pulp we will see it again and again and again.

    It seems that RINO’s will duck for cover on any issue where they have to stand up for a conservative Republican.

    Clearly a terrible injustice.

    But all that said, I have been  told almost constantly as a Californian how messed up we are ( and we are, but not everywhere) but it does seem that Texas ain’t all that it is made out to be either if Republicans will abandon a conservative like that.  You Texans best beware if you are so infected with cowardly RINO’s how fast the fanatical left will turn your home state upside down.

    I fear the cowardly  bought and paid for RINO’s will be the end of us all and the end of the Republic.  

    • #17
  18. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    Unsk (View Comment):

    Clearly a terrible injustice.

    Not that clear.   Paxton does have issues (eg, he had a mistress) and that weakens him politically. 

    But all that said, I have been  told almost constantly as a Californian how messed up we are ( and we are, but not everywhere) but it does seem that Texas ain’t all that it is made out to be either if Republicans will abandon a conservative like that.  You Texans best beware if you are so infected with cowardly RINO’s how fast the fanatical left will turn your home state upside down.

    Texas has always been a nanny state and now it is a young and more urban state.   Young, urban, with a history of government interference is a breeding ground for RINOs.    I took the picture below earlier today in suburban Austin.  This person is probably a new Texas voter. “Plant seeds and sing songs” and “I love trees” are two of the stickers.  The electric car is a Mitsubishi iMiEV.   It has a range of 56 miles and about 62 HP.  It was discontinued in 2018.  Too me, it looks like a tax increase on wheels.

    • #18
  19. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    A key thing to remember is that the republicans need to avoid the cult of personality, such as what Trump has nurtured.  In a perverse way, we should be more like Al Qaeda.  

    What I mean is that our political leaders, because they lack a spine and understanding of radical murderous strains of Islam, try to limit military engagement by “surgical” strikes that target key leaders.  What they don’t seem to understand is that as soon as we execute one of their leaders, another steps right up and they rarely even fall out of step.  They have an ideology that moves them, not individuals.

    We aren’t there yet.  We seem to think we can only be saved by this or that individual.  Trump did good things (he also did some bad, you pick which is which), but he isn’t the end-all of the resistance needed to stop the surge of communist progressive democrats.  We need to develop our ideology to counter them, and share that ide0logy as much as possible, so that it doesn’t matter which person we elect.  

    They have destroyed Trump’s effectiveness.  Okay, in war and politics people get hurt.  Move on to the next candidate, and the next one and the next one.   It should’t matter.  But sadly it does because too many republicans in office (the “establishment”) don’t share the ideology.  They only share among themselves a desire to stay in power of their party.  Power over the country is extra, they are happy to just have control of the party.

    • #19
  20. MSJL Thatcher
    MSJL
    @MSJL

    “Four of them sued for illegal dismissal, and Paxton reached a $3.3 million settlement of taxpayer money with them, which the state legislature refused to fund. This is the main issue that has blown up into the impeachment inquiry. Again, there has been so much he-said, she-said that it’s hard to know what is true.”

    If you come in as the AG and hand me, a Texas tax payer, a $3.3 million bill for your misconduct, characterized as “he-said, she-said”, and expect no accountability, then don’t expect to find me sympathetic when the Legislature balks and pushes back.

    You can dismiss this as a political prosecution, but it includes 3/4 of elected GOP members of the House and that just can’t be dismissed as a bunch of long-in-the-tooth RINOs.

    Paxton has courted controversy since he was elected, he can’t resolve the various troubles he finds himself in, and he has no right to stick the rest of us with the bill.  You might like his grandstanding on particular issues, but he is a breathing tooth ache.  I think the simple answer is that he has worn out his welcome and the patience of even his own party.

    • #20
  21. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Notice this occurred, and then suddenly the guy needs to be indicted!!

    Many people in the USA are aware that the vax manufacturers have freedom from any liability for their products. Except if it  is revealed that the companies’ personnel knew before they released the vaxxes that there were specific problems.

    Paxton’s investigation would certainly come up with the factual info that these companies all knew specific problems, including death would occur. (I mean, on my HD, I have information showing this – and I have nowhere near the resources that the state of TX AG’s office has.)

    This could result in tens of billions if not hundreds of billions of dollars worth of lawsuits being filed against Pfizer, Moderna, et al.

    https://nypost.com/2023/04/30/texas-ag-ken-paxtons-covid-vaccine-investigation-could-stick-it-to-big-pharma-execs/

    • #21
  22. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Steve Fast (View Comment):

    DonG (CAGW is a Scam) (View Comment):

    Impeached. All the Dems and half the GOP

    GOP voted 60-23 in favor of impeachment, which tells me it wasn’t just a personality clash. Dems 61-0 for impeachment. All 5 of the reps from Paxton’s home country of Collins voted to impeach.

    Cruz was the only statewide official to defend Paxton, and even he didn’t say Paxton was innocent but that voters had already seen the evidence and decided to re-elect him and that their will should be respected.

    Big Pharma monied lobbyists once again hammer our elected officials into compliance.

    (See my reply right above this one.)

    Same old, same old. In Spring 1999, Gov Davis of Calif refused to ignore the Blue Ribbon Panel’s scientific findings that toxic gas additive MTBE was all risk, and no benefit, so he banned the mandated 9% addition of the substance in our gasoline.

    Big oil companies had promised Sen Di Feinstein a good deal, although specifics were not made public. Sierra Club was bought and paid for. For the right amount of $$ support from Big Oil,  they claimed MTBE was beneficial for the eco system.

    Oil companies wanted this crap in our gasoline because at the time, EPA measures on this stuff would most likely have caused the companies to put it into barrels and Super Fund it – a very expensive process. Unless they could trick the state of Calif officials into accepting it as being worthy of being added to gasoline.

    So then it was not surprising that faster than Gomer Pyle could have said “Gol-lee!” the governor  was the victim of trumped up charges accusing him of fraud. (To his credit, Jay Leno stood by Davis. Leno understood how gnarly the substance was, as he most likely felt ill when working on his cars.)

    Davis was recalled, and oil friendly Schwartzenneger was put in his place.

    Paxton must have known his stance on vax investigation would cost him politically.

    • #22
  23. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    MSJL (View Comment):

    “Four of them sued for illegal dismissal, and Paxton reached a $3.3 million settlement of taxpayer money with them, which the state legislature refused to fund. This is the main issue that has blown up into the impeachment inquiry. Again, there has been so much he-said, she-said that it’s hard to know what is true.”

    If you come in as the AG and hand me, a Texas tax payer, a $3.3 million bill for your misconduct, characterized as “he-said, she-said”, and expect no accountability, then don’t expect to find me sympathetic when the Legislature balks and pushes back.

    You can dismiss this as a political prosecution, but it includes 3/4 of elected GOP members of the House and that just can’t be dismissed as a bunch of long-in-the-tooth RINOs.

    Paxton has courted controversy since he was elected, he can’t resolve the various troubles he finds himself in, and he has no right to stick the rest of us with the bill. You might like his grandstanding on particular issues, but he is a breathing tooth ache. I think the simple answer is that he has worn out his welcome and the patience of even his own party.

    At this point in time, we need officials who will stick it to the major interests running our nation into the ground.

    And of course, with the media being bought and paid for, anything of substance done by any elected official – like taking on the shoddy dangerous vax industry – is going to cause that  elected official a ton of tremendously harmful publicity.

    Plus here is what you need t  consider – you get rid of Paxton, you will see a Newsom, Becerra or Harris  clone in his place. Is that really  what you want?

    • #23
  24. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    MSJL (View Comment):
    You can dismiss this as a political prosecution, but it includes 3/4 of elected GOP members of the House and that just can’t be dismissed as a bunch of long-in-the-tooth RINOs.

    I will say that it is hard to judge the true feeling by the vote.   The Texas House Speaker position can be very  powerful.  Dade Phelan was voted to Speaker 145-3.   Third world dictators don’t get that kind of vote.   FYI, the 3 against were a conservative Republican challenger and his two backers.

    • #24
  25. Jack Mantle Member
    Jack Mantle
    @JackMantle

    I may yet write a post on this matter.  I am very close friends with one of the seven signatories of the accusatory letter.  I will be staying at his house for his son’s wedding this Saturday.  My friend is the most senior and powerful official to have resigned in disgust. He did so without issuing a statement or making any comment.  I realize that this is argument by authority so take it for what it is worth.  Paxton is dirty and more dirty than has been reported.  His criminality is not a close call.  My friend would never have resigned had there been any other explanation for Mr. Paxton’s actions.  My friend understands that he will be the central witness in any impeachment trial.  This is in no way a political hit job.  To their credit, all seven took the more difficult route of holding one of their own to account for his actions.  AG Paxton has been a force for considerable good in the direction he has steered his state to confront the illegality of the Biden administration.  He is also a very flawed human who has no business serving in the office of TX AG.

    Time will show this to be true.  Cheers.

    • #25
  26. MSJL Thatcher
    MSJL
    @MSJL

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    Plus here is what you need t  consider – you get rid of Paxton, you will see a Newsom, Becerra or Harris  clone in his place. Is that really  what you want?

    I don’t buy the theory that the GOP alternative to Paxton is a Woke Clone.  In a single breathe we go from Texas as a Deep Red State to Texas the Wobbly Purplish based on the fate of a single office holder.

    I get it that a lot of people like Paxton and you like what he says on subjects that are important to you.  But he is also a public official falling short; he keeps generating troubles and now he expects the tax payers to foot the bill.

    • #26
  27. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    Plus here is what you need t  consider – you get rid of Paxton, you will see a Newsom, Becerra or Harris  clone in his place. Is that really  what you want?

    What leads you to that conclusion?

    • #27
  28. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    Skyler (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    Plus here is what you need t consider – you get rid of Paxton, you will see a Newsom, Becerra or Harris clone in his place. Is that really what you want?

    What leads you to that conclusion?

    I read the governor appoints the replacement.

    • #28
  29. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    DonG (CAGW is a Scam) (View Comment):

    Skyler (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):
    Plus here is what you need t consider – you get rid of Paxton, you will see a Newsom, Becerra or Harris clone in his place. Is that really what you want?

    What leads you to that conclusion?

    I read the governor appoints the replacement.

    Why would Gov Abbott appoint a democrat to be AG?  Makes no sense.

    • #29
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