Photo: Alamy
A decade-long investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has finally ended. According to the Associated Press, Paxton negotiated a deal to avoid facing a trial involving felony security fraud charges. He was indicted in 2015 with no conviction.
Despite concerns surrounding the lengthy investigation, Paxton agreed to pay nearly $300,000, perform 100 hours of community service, and receive 15 hours of legal ethics education via the Associated Press.
This comes after he withstood an impeachment trial last fall and was acquitted of corruption charges.
He made a statement Tuesday and posted it to X. It said, “The prosecution came to us to begin negotiations and we were able to come to an agreement on the terms. There will never be a conviction in this case nor am I guilty.”
He thanked his supporters and added, “I am glad to move on and will provide further comment in the weeks ahead.”
Texas Lieutenant Governor Patrick celebrated the news with Paxton, stating, “Attorney General @KenPaxtonTX has suffered 9 years of political harassment instigated at the hands of his enemies in the Texas House.”
“The actions from the Court in Houston highlighted the lack of any real evidence – the prosecution was wise to save themselves the embarrassment of a courtroom defeat,” he went on.
Sid Miller, commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture, wrote, “When they failed to impeach, the jig was up. They had no chance to convict, so they cut their losses.”
He also called it a victory for “democratic norms” and concluded that “Lawfare is an authoritarian substitute for the ballot box and should never be tolerated in a free society.”
State Rep. Nate Shatzline, R-Texas, spoke out, divulging the details of his personal experience with the investigation.
He alleged that Texas House Leadership told him to read “baseless” evidence without access to witnesses and that none of the witnesses gave testimony under oath.
President Trump’s senior advisor, Stephen Miller, stated, “The complete and long overdue exoneration of @KenPaxtonTX — and the humiliation of his persecutors — is a cause for all patriots to celebrate.”
He then answered, “The guys at @lawsuitreform who spent four years and untold millions of donors’ dollars on the (baseless) premise that @kenpaxtontx would be in jail by mid-2023 on the made-up charges.”
