Paxton’s past
A look at the troubles of the Texas AG over the years.
In recent days, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has come under fire from seven of his top aides, who have accused him of bribery and corruption for using his office to benefit an embattled Austin real estate investor.
Such accusations are nothing new for Paxton, the state’s top law enforcement officer, who began his first term in office in 2015 under a cloud of scrutiny stemming from a grand jury indictment charging him with felony securities fraud and who was accused of accepting bribes in 2016 by an anonymous employee. The Kaufman County district attorney’s office investigated but did not ultimately file charges.
Here’s a breakdown of allegations made against Paxton during his time in public office, both as a legislator and as attorney general.
2008: Failed to disclose interest in company
As first revealed in a 2008 Associated Press report, Paxton came under fire for failing to disclose his ties to WatchGuard Video, a company that sells equipment to municipal police departments across the nation.
Paxton was an early investor in the company. After WatchGuard won a multimillion-dollar state contract in Texas, a competitor filed a lawsuit alleging the bidding process was rigged in WatchGuard’s favor and that two lawmakers — then-Reps. Paxton and Byron Cook — had special interest in the company’s success.
Paxton denied any wrongdoing. He and Cook described themselves as minor investors with no influence on the direction of the company. Paxton said he was unaware that the business had state contracts.
2013: The MontBlanc pen investigation
Paxton was involved in a Collin County courthouse mix-up when he took another lawyer’s $1,000 MontBlanc pen from the security line as he gathered his belongings after going through metal detectors, an incident first reported by the Dallas Morning News.
The pen’s owner, attorney Joe Joplin, was unable to locate the pen and enlisted the help of Collin County Sheriff Terry Box, who went through security video footage and recognized Paxton — then a state senator — as the person who took the pen.
When asked about it by a sheriff’s deputy, Paxton returned the pen. His office said it was a mistake, and Joplin declined to press charges or speculate on what might have happened, telling the Morning News: “You can surmise that.”
July 2015: Indicted on securities fraud charges
Paxton was indicted on felony securities fraud charges months after he was sworn in as attorney general in 2015. A civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with similar allegations was dismissed later.
Paxton stands accused of encouraging investors in 2011, including friends and Cook, the state representative, to invest in a North Texas-based technology startup — without disclosing that he was being paid by the company. Paxton also is accused of failing to register as an investment adviser representative.
The case is nowhere near trial, as it has been shuttled from court to court and delayed by side battles over prosecutor’s pay and the location.
Paxton has maintained his innocence and called the charges a politically motivated witch hunt. Summer 2016: Accused by anonymous
employee of bribery
To pay for hefty legal defense bills stemming from his securities fraud case, Paxton has leaned on donations from wealthy friends and donors totaling more than $329,000. The large amount raised concerns in 2016 that Paxton was exploiting loopholes in Texas bribery laws.
Current state law prohibits employees at agencies such as the attorney general’s office from accepting gifts if the official or employee is aware that the giver is subject to agency authority. But all elected state officials can accept “a gift or other benefit conferred on account of kinship or a personal, professional or business relationship independent of the official status of the recipient.”
Paxton has said the contributors to his legal defense fund were family friends.
The Texas Ethics Commission reviewed a request for an opinion on the matter and declined to give Paxton legal cover. But later, Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Wiley investigated and found that the gift didn’t violate bribery laws because “Paxton had a personal relationship with the donor.”
April 2020: Targeting Colorado COVID restrictions
Paxton stepped in to defend Texans who own property in Colorado’s Gunnison County after officials there tried sending everyone but local residents away during the early days of the pandemic.
In early April, Paxton sent a letter to Gunnison County officials asking them to reverse course and allow nonresident property owners to stay. They agreed to do so shortly after receiving his letter, the AP reported. But the move raised questions about why Paxton would take issue with orders from a county hundreds of miles away.
According to the AP, Paxton has at least nine Texas donors who own property in the county. Those donors collectively have poured nearly $2 million into political contributions for Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.
Paxton spokesman Marc Rylander said in an email that “it is a normal practice for the attorney general to speak with multiple constituents from around Texas about issues pertinent to Texas residents.”
Ethics watchdogs consulted by the AP called it a matter that should be investigated.
October 2020: Top aides level accusations
Seven top aides accused Paxton of bribery and abuse of office.
At the center of the accusations is their claim that Paxton abused his office to benefit embattled Austin real estate investor and Paxton donor Nate Paul, Hearst Newspapers reported this week.
The whistleblowers were spurred into action when an outside prosecutor hired by Paxton began targeting “adversaries” of Paul, a senior attorney general’s official told Hearst Newspapers. Court records regarding the case have been sealed as law enforcement agencies investigate the allegations.
Paxton denied wrongdoing.
“Because employees from my office impeded the investigation and because I knew Nate Paul, I ultimately decided to hire an outside independent prosecutor to make his own independent determination,” Paxton said in a statement. “Despite the effort by rogue employees and their false allegations, the AG’s office will continue to seek justice in Texas, and I will not be resigning.”