Texas’ top lawyer Attorney General Ken Paxton has been grabbing headlines almost everyday with the allegations against him – from the IRS audit, to trouble with federal courts for resisting the Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage.
Out of these many accusations one has been most damaging for him: criminal and civil fraud charges stemming for accusations that he steered investors to a company without disclosing that the company was paying him to promote it. This charge has some wondering if Paxton can carry a court battle and continue carrying out his duties as Attorney General.
Josh Brodesky, with the San Antonio Express-News editorial board, says taking a leave of absence would sideline Paxton, “allowing the agency to kind of continue operations as normal as possible.”
Brodesky says whatever Paxton does, it’s always couched with the charges against him. Paxton has been able to maintain a ‘business as usual’ demeanor in the face of the ongoing allegations, but the accusations question his credibility.
“Every interview that he does, every story that runs, comes with some mention of his indictment, the fact that he’s embattled,” Brodesky says.
As the allegations play out, Republicans have not jumped to Paxton’s rescue. “It could reflect his standing with other lawmakers, in terms of popularity or friends that he has,” Brodesky says. “I think that in some ways it reflects the very serious nature of his charges.”
Listen to the full interview in the audio player above.
Prepared for web by Swathi Narayanan.
