Fool me once

Regarding “Texas AG Ken Paxton settles for $3.3 million with whistleblowers who accused him of taking bribes,” (Feb. 10): This heading is a lie. It should read “Texas taxpayers to pay $3.3M for Paxton’s corruption.” Paxton’s aides reported him after he allegedly used the power of his office to illegally support one of his campaign donors. The whistleblowers’ suit alleges that he illegally used taxpayer dollars to hire outside legal counsel to protect that friend’s financial interests after said aides refused to authorize that move. So Paxton fired the aides.

Guess who paid those outside counsel legal fees? The same people who will pay so Paxton can “ensure [his] third term as attorney general is unburdened by unnecessary distractions.” And by the way, Paxton states he has chosen this path to “save taxpayer dollars.”

What a joke! If Texans want to save taxpayer dollars, the Texas Legislature needs to vote a big “no” to appropriating funds to pay for Paxton’s corruption settlement. Let’s stop paying for Paxton’s mistakes. The indicted attorney general needs to pay his own legal fees.

Judith Peek Lee, Beaumont

I really can’t believe how gullible the people in Texas have become to have reelected Ken Paxton so many times. I voted for him the first time he ran, thinking he might be good for our state; how wrong I was and, of course, I have never voted for him again. He’s a crook and states that he is not subject to the Texas Whistleblower Act because he’s not a public employee but rather an elected official. Does that mean elected officials do not have to obey the law?

And you and I, as all the taxpayers in Texas, have paid for his legal fees. We will likely also pay for his settlement with the people he fired allegedly because they were trying to let us all know what Paxton had been up to.

It’s time for the people in Texas to wake up and realize the damage Ken Paxton has done to us and to our state.

Rae Gerson, Houston