Developer tied to Paxton cites bad warrants
DALLAS — On a summer morning last year, FBI agents arrived at the home of a prominent real estate developer in Austin and began scouring the palatial Frenchstyle chateau for documents, videos and photographs as part of an investigation that remains under wraps.
Nate Paul alleges in a criminal complaint obtained by the Associated Press that the agents detained him during their hourslong search and repeatedly refused to show him their warrant. He wrote in the complaint that the warrants eventually turned over to his lawyers had been tampered with.
Meanwhile, details of the FBI probe remain undisclosed.
The search of Paul’s home set off a series of maneuvers by private attorneys and state and federal lawenforcement that recently burst into public view with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s top deputies accusing the Republican of crimes tied to his investigation of Paul’s claims. Paxton has acknowledged knowing the developer, but the nature of their relationship remains unclear.
And exactly what Paul wanted investigated was not previously made public. The details of his complaint deepen questions about its path to the office of an attorney general who got a $25,000 campaign contribution from the developer in 2018.
“Usually, you don’t take it to the state authorities to investigate the feds,” said Toby Shook, a prominent Dallas criminal defense attorney and former county prosecutor.
In the June request for an investigation, Paul accused the agents, federal prosecutors, a judge and other officials of illegally seizing his property and violating his rights. He claimed they broke state laws against tampering with government documents and “official oppression.”
The FBI and federal prosecutors in West Texas declined to comment. Several legal experts who reviewed Paul’s complaint were skeptical that the allegations constitute crimes by lawenforcement.
Paul, who’s fighting with creditors over millions in delinquent
debt, suggested the search warrants for his home and offices were monkeyed with and obtained based on “false information.” He alleged the warrants that were sent to his lawyers hours and days after the 2019 searches don’t match the documents filed in court.
Paul has not been publicly charged with any crime. His lawyer and Paxton’s office did not respond to questions Thursday.
Paxton’s hiring of an outside attorney to investigate Paul’s claims led his seven top deputies to report the attorney general to the FBI for alleged abuse of office, bribery and other crimes. Paxton dropped the case into Paul’s claims this month, but the fallout has deepened political, and possibly legal, trouble for the attorney general.
Paxton rose to national prominence during his time in office but has spent most of it maintaining his innocence in the face of separate criminal charges. On Thursday, an appeals court put on hold a decision to send the securities fraud case against Paxton back to his home county north of Dallas
Legal experts who reviewed Paul’s claims said that, if true, they could be obstacles in a potential prosecution. They said some of the behavior described as outrageous in the complaint is actually typical, while other actions might warrant scrutiny but were unlikely to be criminal.
“What they’re complaining aboutwas obviously very uncomfortable,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School and former federal prosecutor. “But the type of misconduct that gets attention is when people are hurt, when there’s ransacking, when there are no warrants.”