As FBI Investigates Abuse Of Office Charges, Former Aides Sue Ken Paxton

This week in Texas politics with The Texas Tribune

By Alexandra Hart & Shelly BrisbinNovember 20, 2020 12:02 pm,

It’s time for the week that was in Texas politics with Alex Samuels political reporter for The Texas Tribune.

This week, the Associated Press reported that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is under investigation by the FBI, after being accused by eight former top aides of using his office to illegally help a campaign donor.

“Two unnamed sources told the AP that the bureau was examining claims made by the whistleblowers that Paxton broke the law by intervening several times in legal matters involving Nate Paul,” Samuels said.

Paul is an investor, and a friend of Paxton, who donated $25,000 to the attorney general’s reelection campaign in 2018.

Some of the former Paxton aides have filed a whistleblower lawsuit, alleging that they were retaliated against by Paxton for making their charges public. Four aides were fired, three resigned and one has been put on leave since making the allegations.

Paxton has denied wrongdoing, and said he will not resign, even though some fellow Republicans have urged him to do so.

In other news, Texas Sen. John Cornyn has been “gently” pushing back against President Donald Trump. Cornyn won reelection this month.

“Earlier this week, Cornyn expressed disapproval of Trump’s firing of top election security official Chris Krebs, and the administration’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Iraq by January,” Samuels said.

Cornyn has also said he hasn’t seen any information that puts the outcome of the presidential election in doubt, as Trump has done.

A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration, saying it can no longer deport unaccompanied minors immediately upon their entry into the United States. The administration began immediate deportations in March, saying it was being done in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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