Crime

According To Texas Attorney General, Texas Attorney General Did Nothing Wrong

Sure man, whatever you say.

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Ken Paxton

Things that make you go hmmmm, for $100, Alex. (Yes, I will continue to honor Alex Trebek’s memory with this mild attempt at humor unless/until LeVar Burton gets the nod.)

While the headline may seem like a weird tautology, it is all too real. That’s because Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has been cleared of any wrongdoing by none other than himself. Well, as reported by Law & Crime, it was technically via an unsigned memo from Paxton’s office, but you get the drift.

The 374-page report cleared the scandal-prone Attorney General of bribery allegations made by former employees:

“AG Paxton’s actions were lawful, and consistent with his legal duties and prior actions taken by Attorneys General of Texas,” the first bullet point of his executive summary states. “AG Paxton committed no crime.”

Several of Paxton’s former aides claim real estate investor Nate Paul, who has been under FBI investigation, received favors from the AG in return for employing Paxton’s mistress, campaign donations, and help with a home remodel. But the AG’s memo rebuts the allegation:

“There is no evidence that Nate Paul attempted to bribe AG Paxton,” the report by Paxton’s office, published under his official seal, states. “The Complainants attempt to use a campaign donation as proof of the bribe, however, Paul has made only one campaign donation to AG Paxton in 2018 – not only well before the allegedly improper actions taken by AG Paxton in 2020, but even before the FBI’s 2019 raid that formed the gravamen of Nate Paul’s criminal complaints.”

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The unsigned memo also took shots at those complaining about the AG’s behavior:

“some of the Complainants operated in an unaccountable manner by not documenting their actions, instructing subordinates not to document their actions, dismissing other employees so that they could have secret meetings, deleting emails, and potentially other acts taken to conceal behaviors, processes, and evidence.”

In February, several of the former staffers filed an amended lawsuit alleging the bribery scheme and retaliation.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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