Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused by top aides of bribery, abuse of office

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
(Image credit: Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)

Seven top aides to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) are accusing him of "violating federal and/or state law including prohibitions related to improper influence, abuse of office, bribery, and other potential criminal offenses," according to a letter obtained Saturday by KVUE-TV and the Austin American-Statement. The signatories include five deputy attorneys general, Paxton's top aide Jeff Mateer — who resigned Friday — and Mateer's deputy. They disclosed their allegations in a whistleblower complaint to the agency's human resources director.

The seven aides are seeking a federal investigation into Paxton's appointment of a special prosecutor to target "adversaries" of Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, a Paxton campaign donor, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday. "Their decisions to report possible illegal activity involving their employer represents a stunning development in an agency that prizes loyalty, particularly from within Paxton's inner circle," the American-Statesman says. "It places a renewed spotlight on Paxton, who is already under indictment for alleged securities fraud."

Paxton was arrested five years ago, but he "has yet to go to trial on the charges amid side battles over where the case will be heard and how much the special prosecutors appointed to take the case to trial will be paid," The Texas Tribune notes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Sunday the new "allegations raise serious concerns," and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) called them "obviously concerning," though both said they would reserve judgment until an investigation was complete. A spokeswoman for Paxton said, without elaborating, that the complaint "was done to impede an ongoing investigation into criminal wrongdoing by public officials including employees of this office. Making false claims is a very serious matter and we plan to investigate this to the fullest extent of the law.”

"Paxton has faced numerous questions over his ethics over his more than a decade in public life," The Texas Tribune reports, including claiming that hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts for his legal defense "came from 'family friends' and are exempt from a state bribery law." And last year, the Tribune notes, "his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed a bill that would have expanded her husband's power as attorney general, giving him the power to exempt individuals from state regulations like the one he has been charged with violating." Read more about Paxton's history at The Texas Tribune.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.