Name: Gov. Abbott: New criminal allegations against Texas AG Ken Paxton ‘raise serious concerns’
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Gov. Abbott: New criminal allegations against Texas AG Ken Paxton ‘raise serious concerns’

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12:13 PM on Oct 4, 2020 CDTUpdated at 12:30 p.m. with the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas saying he will step down from his post at the end of the week.AUSTIN — Top Texas Republicans expressed concerns Sunday over new allegations Prosecutors pursuing separate fraud charges against Paxton said they will investigate the matter.“These allegations raise serious concerns. I will withhold further comment until the results of any investigation are complete,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick weighed in later Sunday, saying he first learned about the allegations in the media and echoing Abbott that they were “obviously concerning.” He said he would withhold further comment until the investigation is complete.Their remarks came a day after the that several of Paxton’s top employees filed a whistleblower’s complaint accusing him of “improper influence, abuse of office, bribery and other potential criminal offenses” and asked federal law enforcement to investigate.The employees did not elaborate on the specific alleged crimes. But late Sunday, the Houston Chronicle reported the accusations deal with Paxton’s relationship with Austin real estate developer and campaign donor Nate Paul.NEW: This is the letter sent by 7 top aides to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleging the state’s top lawyer has committed multiple criminal violations. . — Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski)Paxton’s office responded by saying the complaints were made 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,” .The state’s other top GOP leaders — including House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and party Chairman Allen West — did not respond to requests for comment Sunday. Paxton, a Republican first elected to statewide office in 2014, co-chairs the Lawyers for Trump coalition, which also did not return a call asking for comment Sunday. Paxton is up for reelection in 2022.It is unclear whether these new accusations are related to . Brian Wice, one of the special prosecutors pursuing those charges for the last five years, told The Dallas Morning News on Sunday: “We’re looking into it.”Political watchers said the allegations are serious enough to grow into a debacle.“For scandal in recent Texas history, this has got to be at the top of the chart," Nancy Beck Young, a political historian at the University of Houston, said Sunday. “This does have the potential to be a huge bombshell.”According to the report, seven of the most senior employees in the Office of the Attorney General filed a whistleblower complaint with the agency’s human resources director on Thursday. They had a “good faith belief” that Paxton broke state and federal laws, their letter read.It was signed by the deputy and deputy attorneys general overseeing divisions that include criminal investigations, civil litigation, administration and policy as well as then-First Assistant Attorney General Jeff Mateer, the top lawyer under Paxton..Nate Paul, the developer, donated $25,000 to Paxton’s hard-fought campaign against Democrat Justin Nelson in 2018. , the whistleblowers decided to raise concerns after Paxton recently appointed a special prosecutor to target Paul’s “adversaries."Mateer asked Paxton to meet with the whistleblowers last week, . Paxton declined, saying he was out of the office.Paxton has repeatedly fought off corruption allegations during his time in elected office.Within months of taking office that year, Paxton was charged with two-first degree felonies for allegedly failing to disclose that he was being paid to convince investors to buy stock in a North Texas technology company. He was also charged with a third-degree felony for failing to register with the state as an investment adviser. His 2015 criminal cases have been repeatedly delayed and he has yet to face trial. If convicted, Paxton could face up to 99 years in prison for each of the first-degree felony charges and two to 10 years for the third-degree charge.Paxton has maintained his innocence in his securities fraud case and said .In the past five years, Paxton also , and . Throughout it all, the state’s top Republicans have declined to call for his ouster.Democrats, however, have long argued Paxton should step down. Within hours of the news breaking Saturday night, they pounced, using the accusations against Paxton to go after him and other Texas Republicans.Ken Paxton should resign now. RT if you agree.— Justin Nelson (@NelsonForTexas)“Indicted Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is the top law enforcement official in the state. Yet, he has proven for years that he cannot follow the law himself,” Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement Saturday night. “Texans are tired of Republican corruption and lawlessness that festers under their unchecked power.”Paxton political consultant Jordan Berry confirmed to The News on Sunday morning he would no longer work with the attorney general. Berry had already quit working with Paxton’s wife, Angela, a state senator who represents parts of Collin County, but that decision was unrelated to these recent allegations against the attorney general.The News reached out to all seven whistleblowers. One of them, Mark Penley, deputy attorney general for criminal prosecution, declined to comment, saying only “I’m not able to speak about it.”Within Paxton’s agency, top leaders tried to keep employees on task. Deputy First Assistant Attorney General Ryan L. Bangert, who signed the whistleblower complaint against Paxton, sent out an agencywide email telling employees he and other top staff members remain focused on their work.“In light of recent events reported in the media, I write to assure you that the executive team remains committed to serving you, this office, and the people of Texas. The work we do together makes a difference every day in the lives of our fellow citizens,” the email read, according to a copy obtained by The News. “Together, we owe a duty to this office and the people of the State, who we serve, to ensure the agency continues its important work without interruption.“Your work, your sacrifice, and your dedication to this office inspire us all.”Requests for comment sent to U.S. attorney’s offices in Texas were not returned Sunday. The FBI declined to confirm or deny the existence of any investigation.If the agency investigates and finds the allegations against Paxton have merit, the U.S. attorney in the region where the alleged crimes were committed could take the case to a federal grand jury. Paxton works in Austin, where his agency is based so the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas would likely handle any potential case.On Monday, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas John Bash resigned his position effective Friday. Bash said U.S. Attorney Bill Barr had selected Gregg Sofer to servce in the role. Sofer had previously served as the office’s criminal division chief. Since early this year, he has been in Washington D.C. serving as counselor to Barr.Bash’s wife, Zina Bash, currently works for the Texas Attorney General’s office. In his resignation announcement, Bash that last month he had accepted an offer for a position in the private sector and informed Barr of his decision. He didn’t mention his wife’s connection to Paxton’s office.Investigators here in Texas could also look into the allegations Paxton may have broken state laws. The Texas Rangers would most likely take the lead; charges could be brought by the local prosecutor in the county where the alleged crimes were committed.Meanwhile, Paxton’s response to the allegations made clear he would launch his own probe into what he called the “false claims” made against him. However, if the employees filed their complaint in good faith and are subsequently disciplined or fired, they could argue Paxton is retaliating against them in violation of the Texas Whistleblower Act, said employment law expert Michael P. Maslanka.Maslanka said he would advise Paxton to call in a third party like the Texas Rangers."I would do something to separate myself from the investigation,” said Maslanka, an assistant law professor at the University of North Texas.It’s unclear whether these new allegations will have any effect on Paxton’s current criminal cases.Jeff Ansley, head of Bell Nunnally &amp; Martin’s white-collar crimes practice, said the two “appear unrelated.” Paxton’s securities fraud case involves behavior from his time in the Texas Legislature, nearly a decade ago, and does not have to do with abuse of office; the new allegations date to his time as attorney general and appear to be directly related to his official capacity.Unless there is evidence that Paxton, as attorney general, intimidated witnesses or obstructed justice related to his 2015 fraud case, Ansley said he doesn’t see any investigation in these new allegations affecting the state prosecution.The team of lawyers defending Paxton in his securities fraud case did not respond to requests for comment Sunday.Young, the professor in Houston, said Texas Republicans need to tread carefully to ensure Paxton’s troubles don’t rub off on them.“Abbott and Patrick would be very wise to socially distance and politically distance from the attorney general,” she said.Rice University political science professor Mark Jones agreed that state GOP leaders should — and can — insulate themselves from Paxton’s issues. They’ve been doing so for five years already, he said. While this most recent investigation plays out, Jones added that Texas Republicans need to start thinking about Paxton’s replacement.State GOP leaders have multiple options if they feel Paxton should go, Jones said. They could pressure him to step aside or run another Republican against him in 2022. If Paxton resigns, Jones said Abbott could chose a successor.On Sunday, state Rep. Sarah Davis of Houston likely became the first elected Republican .“Paxton needs to quickly address these allegations or resign so he can devote his time to his own personal legal matters,” she tweeted.Both Jones and Young said they would not be surprised if Paxton did just that.“Should there be a there there,” Young said, “a resignation would not be beyond the realm the possibility."Staff writer Holly Hacker and Washington bureau chief Todd J. Gillman contributed to this report.Texas governor Greg Abbott took office in Jan. 20, 2015. He previously served as a state district judge, was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 1995 and elected attorney general in 2002.At The Dallas Morning News, we believe that your voice contributes toour journalism and helps shape our communities. We open a handful of stories to comments eachday, and we encourage you to take part in the discussion.Comments must be kept on topic; they will be moderated to ensure that they meet our communityand. The discussion forum on this article willclose to new comments 48 hours after publication. For additional information, see our.Receive the latest political news delivered every Tuesday and Thursday from reporters in Austin, Dallas and Washington.By signing up you agree to our

12:13 PM on Oct 4, 2020 CDTUpdated at 12:30 p.m. with the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas saying he will step down from his post at the end of the week.AUSTIN — Top Texas Republicans expressed concerns Sunday over new allegations Prosecutors pursuing separate fraud charges against Paxton said they will investigate the matter.“These allegations raise serious concerns. I will withhold further comment until the results of any investigation are complete,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick weighed in later Sunday, saying he first learned about the...

Gov. Abbott: New criminal allegations against Texas AG Ken Paxton ‘raise serious concerns’

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