In 2015, the year Paxton became attorney general, a grand jury indicted him on two counts of securities fraud, a first-degree felony, and failure to act with state securities regulators, a third-degree felony. When Herrera arrived at Paxton McKinney`s home Monday morning, he told a woman who identified herself as Angela that he was trying to hand over legal documents to the attorney general. She told him Paxton was on the phone and couldn`t get to the door. Herrera said he would wait. The Paxton agency also signed agreements in late 2021 with two other firms, the Gober Group and West, Webb, Allbritton & Gentry, to defend the attorney general against prosecution discipline. Paxton dismissed the allegations as coming from “rogue associates” who sought to undermine Paul`s grave allegation that federal agents and others illegally raided his home and businesses in Austin in August 2019. With the vote in a month, I offered statewide performance reviews of public office holders. As Attorney General, Paxton is responsible for upholding the rule of law, the foundation of economic freedom and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Next up is challenger Rochelle Garza, who has also focused on Paxton`s legal troubles as she tries to become the first Texas Democrat elected to a statewide office in nearly 30 years. Democratic civil rights lawyer Rochelle Garza is challenging Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in a race in which the incumbent emphasizes his close ties to former President Donald Trump and relies on the loyalty of the state`s most conservative voters as his opponent seeks to focus on his legal scandals. Another trial date in Houston would be set and cancelled due to litigation over ancillary issues.

“It`s really unusual, just in terms of the number of lawsuits and complaints Paxton faces,” Nolette said. “Paxton is really alone right now when it comes to all these legal issues.” But where Paxton differs, Nolette says, is the breadth and depth of his legal problems. While one expert said it`s not uncommon for attorneys general to rely on private lawyers for these kinds of challenges, he said Paxton`s volume of legal problems is unique. It`s not uncommon for politicians to use taxpayer dollars to defend themselves against allegations of misconduct related to their official authority, especially to avoid bankruptcy through endless lawsuits that challenge their judgment, said Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University who researches attorneys general. www.wsj.com/articles/in-texas-attorney-general-race-democrat-targets-ken-paxtons-legal-problems-as-he-courts-conservatives-11664196883 In the lawsuit, four former agency executives said they were fired after accusing Paxton of using his office to support a campaign donor. They said Paxton helped the donor resolve legal issues in exchange for a kitchen renovation and a job for a woman with whom the attorney general allegedly had an affair. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been under criminal indictment for more than seven years and has been under investigation by the FBI for two years — legal issues that have complicated his quest for a third term as the state`s top legal official. At the first hearing of the case on Wednesday, his legal team called it an unconstitutional attempt to control the work of the attorney general`s office and called for its dismissal.

But three Republicans, sensing the incumbent`s vulnerability, targeted Paxton in this year`s primaries, arguing that his legal position should discourage him from continuing to serve as the state`s top legal official. GOP voters disagreed and supported Paxton as he underscored his steady stream of lawsuits against Biden`s policies and his work against abortion, transgender rights and other liberal issues. Then, defense attorneys sent the case back to Collin County in 2020. The prosecution has also appealed the decision, and the all-Republican Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has yet to deliver its verdict. Until that happens, no trial date can be set. Paxton`s lawyers have appealed all the decisions against him, and seven years later they are still arguing at the venue of the trial. In response to a lawsuit filed by a Paxton supporter, a Dallas state appeals court blocked Collin County from paying prosecutors who had been assigned to the Paxton case. That sparked a legal battle that would take years to settle in a series of appeals. Historians will no doubt struggle to explain how he raised millions of dollars in campaign contributions and remained a viable candidate for attorney general even after his own lieutenants reported it to the FBI. The FBI launched an investigation into the allegations but declined to discuss its investigation, so much of the public`s knowledge about the allegations against Paxton stems from a lawsuit filed by four former executives who say they were fired from the attorney general`s office in retaliation for raising their concerns with law enforcement. More: Paxton focused on illegal immigration during his re-election. Garza promotes a different vision of the border.

With these allegations still unresolved, Paxton heads into this upcoming election with a new problem: allegations of official misconduct made by eight of his top lieutenants in the Texas attorney general`s office, all of whom have since been fired or resigned. In a separate but related case, a Paxton employee charged Charles “Chip” Loper III, Cook and Hochberg with a plan to profit from the mutual funds of a mining asset company that represented Paxton before he was elected attorney general. Loper said the program hurt him and his father financially. After being re-elected twice, and then surviving a primary campaign this year despite his legal background, it seemed Paxton was made of Teflon. He continues to be an influential figure in the Republican Party, both in Texas and nationally, and often leads splashy lawsuits in several states against the policies of the Obama and Biden administrations. On Monday, the top judicial authority in the state of Texas reportedly fled his own home instead of allowing an official to serve him with a subpoena. Senior counsel William Helfand charges up to $540 an hour for work that involves reviewing and reviewing briefs, although much of the information is redacted, according to invoices obtained through a file request. He was forced into a runoff for the Republican nomination for another term after prominent Republicans, including former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman and Lands Commissioner George P. Bush, tried to impeach him. But Republican voters voted for him over his opponents in the GOP, who criticized his legal and personal scandals during the campaign. As attorney general, he successfully defended abortion bans in Texas. And when Trump asked for help derailing our democracy, Paxton filed a lawsuit to overturn election results in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The identity of the expert is not disclosed by the State under the rules of secrecy. The agency`s lawyers also work on filing and billing hours in addition to private lawyers, according to the records. Paxton has sided with the GOP`s priorities no matter what the law or precedent may say. He asked a judge to repeal the Affordable Care Act and defended Trump`s clearly illegal policies. Paxton had been in the attorney general`s office for just six months when a Collin County grand jury issued two counts of securities fraud, a first-degree felony that carries a sentence of up to 99 years in prison, and one count of failing to register with state securities regulators. A third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. His lawyers said he did not know he was being served and that the couple had left out of concern for their personal safety, as they did not know the “strange man” who was trying to serve him. But court records show that attorneys representing abortion funds had informed Paxton`s office in advance that they would subpoena the attorney general and that the waiter was at his door.

In September, however, a state judge dismissed a similar lawsuit against Paxton`s deputy, Brent Webster, ruling that he had impermissibly violated the attorney general`s power to prosecute on behalf of the state. Incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, defeated George P. Bush on the Republican runoff for attorney general on May 24. Paxton ran against Democrat Rochelle Garza in November. Ernesto Martin Herrera, a trial server, tried to provide the state`s chief prosecutor with a subpoena for a federal court hearing Tuesday as part of a lawsuit filed by nonprofit organizations that want to help Texans pay for out-of-state abortions. Later Monday, Paxton filed two motions: one to lift the summons and the other to seal the certificates of service containing the affidavit from the trial server. His lawyers argued that the waiter “loitered around the attorney general`s house for over an hour, yelling and accosting him repeatedly,” Paxton and his wife. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman granted both requests early Tuesday, hours after the affidavit was issued. Instead of relying solely on staff lawyers to handle cases, Paxton`s agency has tapped three private companies that have already charged the state a total of $507,000 for their work, according to documents obtained by the Dallas Morning News.