Paxton wouldn’t join in letter to decry riot
Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is the only state attorney general to decline to join letters over the past week condemning the Capitol riot.
In a Jan. 12 letter, 50 state and territorial attorneys general who belong to the National Association of Attorneys General denounced the “lawless violence.” The three remaining state attorneys general not included in that letter wrote their own Wednesday, leaving Paxton as the only holdout.
Paxton is a staunch Trump supporter who co-chaired the re-election group Lawyers for Trump. He spoke at the “Save America” rally at the Capitol in the hours prior to the riot last week, telling the crowds “we will not quit fighting” to overturn the election results.
“The events of January 6 represent a direct, physical challenge to the rule of law and our democratic republic itself,” the Jan. 12 letter read. “Together, we will continue to do our part to repair the damage done to institutions and build a more perfect union. As Americans, and those charged with enforcing the law, we must come together to condemn lawless violence, making clear that such actions will not be allowed to go unchecked.”
In a statement Wednesday, Paxton said he’s made his position on the matter clear in previous comments to the media and on social media.
Paxton did join a statement
from Republican Attorneys General Association last week that condemned the “the violence, destruction, and rampant lawlessness” at the Capitol.
“I call on protesters in our state and our nation’s capital to practice their constitutional right in a peaceful manner. I stand for election integrity and the democratic process,” Paxton said. “I will not tolerate violence and civil disorder.”
In a separate letter Wednesday, the Republican attorneys general of Indiana, Montana and Louisiana wrote: “In all forms and all instances, violent acts carried out in the name of political ideology have no place in any of our United States.”
Their letter seemed to imply a falsehood — that antifa was behind the riot — despite no evidence to support that.
“When antifa or likeminded rioters stoked violence on our college campuses, we did not have the strength to unify,” the letter read. “Now they stoke violence
in our streets as we wonder where all this chaos started. And truly, regardless of where or when it started, it’s time for it to end.”
Paxton was one of the first to perpetuate the idea that antifa was to blame.
“Those who stormed the Capitol yesterday were not Trump supporters. They have been confirmed to be antifa,” Paxton wrote Jan. 7 on Facebook, which flagged the post as “false information” per independent factchecks. “Violence is not the answer.”
He also shared an uncorroborated rumor that “at least 1 ‘bus load’ of antifa thugs infiltrated peaceful Trump demonstrators.” The rumor originated from a conservative writer who cited an anonymous “former FBI agent” and no other evidence.
Some Democrats in Texas blame Paxton for inciting the riot and have called for his resignation.
Texas Democratic Party chair Abhi Rahman in a statement repeated a theory that many others have suggested, including Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska: that Paxton is hoping his loyalty to Trump will pay off in the form of a presidential pardon.
Paxton’s campaign spokesman Ian Prior, in comments to the Texas Tribune last week, called that “an absurdly laughable conspiracy theory.”
Paxton is under criminal indictment on felony securities fraud charges but has yet to go to trial. The FBI is also investigating accusations by seven of his former top aides that he abused his office and took a bribe to help a campaign donor.
“After inciting the violence we saw last week and wasting Texas taxpayer dollars on baseless lawsuits that never see any results, Paxton is an embarrassment to this state and a traitor to this country. The best Paxton can hope for is that pardon,” Rahman said.