Ken Paxton still denies fraud charges, still should explain

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton talked this week about the felony securities fraud charges he faces in state court and a civil fraud case against him in federal court, but he’s still not explaining what happened.

When the state charges against him were unveiled in August, Paxton’s attorney said he was “looking forward to the opportunity to tell his side of the story in the courtroom.”

And last month, when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil securities fraud complaint, another Paxton attorney (the first one quit) said his client “looks forward not only to all of the facts coming out but also to establishing his innocence in both the civil and criminal matters.”

On Thursday, he went to court in Dallas, seeking to get the state charges thrown out. Afterward, he told reporters “these are false charges and we will prevail.”

And in a four-minute video paid for by his political campaign, the attorney general said these are “crimes I didn’t commit.”

Paxton is accused of seeking investments in a McKinney technology company while “intentionally failing to disclose” to investors that the company was compensating him.

Proclamations of innocence are one thing. Explanations are something else. Texans deserve an explanation from their attorney general.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Ken Paxton still denies fraud charges, still should explain."