Texans deserve to know about Paxton
The state’s top lawyer, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, has landed in personal legal (and therefore political) hot water, and his spokesman has issued an entirely plausible response.
It’s all talk so far — no public evidence of the serious felony allegations swirling around Paxton. Still, Texans deserve to know when one of their top elected officials is brought under such suspicion.
“This appears to be a politically motivated effort to ruin the career of a longtime public servant,” Paxton spokesman Anthony Holm said in a statement Thursday.
That may be. Everyone in high elected office is a political target. Democratic political activists certainly have taken part in spreading allegations against Paxton.
Holm was responding to news reports that special prosecutors in Collin County plan to present evidence to a grand jury in the coming weeks, seeking a first-degree felony securities fraud indictment against Paxton.
Such an offense would become a first-degree felony if it involved fraud exceeding $100,000. That would be a significant expansion of allegations against Paxton last year, when he was reprimanded by the State Securities Board and paid a $1,000 fine for soliciting investment clients without properly registering with the state.
“These attacks on Ken Paxton appear to have become a political hit job in the media, perhaps having the effect of inappropriately influencing the grand jury,” Holm said.
In April, State District Court Judge Scott Becker of Collin County named Houston lawyers Kent Schaffer and Brian Wise to investigate whether Paxton committed any criminal acts connected with the State Securities Board’s reprimand and fine.
With help from the Texas Rangers, they are conducting an expansive investigation. Shaffer told WFAA/ Channel 8 on Wednesday of the plan to seek an indictment.
Texans can easily tell that no charges have been filed against Paxton, not even a specific allegation of wrongdoing. They’re capable of keeping an open mind.
Still, they deserve the information they’ve been given.
This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Texans deserve to know about Paxton."