ken paxton eye injuryken paxton eye injury

Paxton was not just providing cover to a desperate president; he was driving the conservative legal apparatus into new territory and setting the stage for the next election challenge to come. Most glaringly, in the eyes of his aides, Paxton had hired a special prosecutor to investigate Pauls claims that various state and federal officials were engaged in a criminal conspiracy against him.

Mark Yablon, a Houston lawyer and friend from Baylor, said Paxton is the same person he was in college: earnest, friendly, easy to talk to. He does not believe Paxton intentionally did anything illegal. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. A public official is traditionally held to a higher standard than a private person. Grave allegations of wrongdoing became almost a shield against consequencesproof, in fact, that you must be doing something right. Justice delayed is Justice denied. It gives him the feeling that he can take on whatever he chooses to and will live with whatever the consequences.. Brian Wice, one of the prosecutors handling the case, declined to comment for this story.

A succession of lawsuits from the Trump campaign were laughed out of court, and the RNCs own counsel privately called their arguments a joke. But the post-election landscape was shaped by the increasingly perverse incentives of Republican politics: The fact that there was no legal basis for such claims made it even more imperative that someone with power make those claims. As soon as the results were in, Paxton embarked on a media tour to plant doubts about the outcome, hinting that Texas had detected something off about Dominions voting machines and amplifying false allegations of a vast conspiracy in key swing states. In the formal complaint the whistleblowers filed with the FBI, and in a subsequent lawsuit for wrongful termination brought by four of them, Paxtons staffers detailed a bizarre pattern of behavior from their boss on behalf of an Austin real estate developer named Nate Paul, with whom the Attorney General has formed a strong personal bond, and with whom the Attorney General increasingly spends large portions of his free time.. (In October, Paul sued the state and federal agents investigating him, alleging that the raids had violated his civil rights and damaged his reputation.) Today, the cloud of legal troubles over Paxton hasnt lifted. The fraud allegations were the outcome of a political witch hunt, he insisted in a YouTube video on the eve of his indictments. A Dallas Cowboys fan from a young age, Paxton moved to Texas to study psychology and economics at Baylor University. He just wants a speedy trial, Paxton insists. They soon moved to Charlottesville, where Angela taught public school and Ken studied law at the University of Virginia. Having already been accused once of selling out his office to a real estate developer with a history of bankruptcies, Paxton decided simply to do it again on a bigger stage. But Ken Paxton didnt mind being an afterthought when he took the stage at the Save America rally in Washington on the morning of January 6. As the New York Times later reported, the lawsuit had first been distributed by Michael Farris, a homeschooling activist and president of the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom. Hes led a legal crusade against immigrants, voting rights, environmental regulations, health care access, and trans equality. He has declined to debate his political challengers in the past, refused to detail how he pays for trips out-of-state including one taken during the February 2021 winter storm and seldom answers questions at public appearances. Rutledge also teamed up with Paxton to challenge the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan, the Biden administrations prohibition on LGBTQ workplace discrimination, and DACA.

In August 2015, Paxton was booked at the Collin County jail on fraud charges. The allegations sparked new calls for Paxton's resignation and raised questions about his ties with the developer. But here in front of the White House, looking out on a sea of red hats and flak jackets, Paxton was taking a victory lap. He went on to say he could not recall how long the woman had worked for him, what she was paid and whether he met her before or after Paxton recommended her. Paxton promised more of the same. In "It's Not a Crisis. By the morning of January 6, Paxton was back in DC. He is not one of the Republican Partys big thinkers. Those investments stemmed from a growing recognition among corporate donors and strategists of the vital role state AGs could play in a broader national agendaa bridge between the right-wing takeover of the courts and the increasingly reactionary and gerrymandered state governments.

Only two of them even believed he had standing to make it. In a Paxton campaign ad from February 2014, the rights favorite firebrand of the moment, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, praises him in a voiceover as Paxton confidently strides down the steps of the Collin County courthouse. D-FW grocery prices skyrocketed. DALLAS (AP) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had an extramarital affair with a woman whom he later recommended for a job with the wealthy donor now at And in the weeks that followed, as Trump pursued every avenue to thwart the certification of the election results and the peaceful transfer of power, Paxton was one of his most eager allies. A version of this story ran in the September 2015 issue. The injuries left him with two different colored eyes and a slight facial droop. It causes poor vision in just one look. November 5, 2020 / 6:08 PM Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. Those allegations stem in part from Paxtons decision to investigate Pauls claims that a federal judge and the FBI broke the law in searches of his home and offices last year. (The company eventually settled, with no admission of wrongdoing.) He was allowed to forgo a white towel draped around his shoulders the typical garb of someone indicted in Collin County on multiple felony charges instead sporting a red tie and a grin. Ken Paxton, who recently won the Republican primary, has a right lazy eye, also known as amblyopia. It causes poor vision in just one look. He has been suffering from an eye disease where the brain cant recognize sight in one eye. However, his left eye is doing well, and its helping with vision without any disturbance.

Paxton, 59, is banking that this approach will propel him to a third term. The Federalist Society has taken no public steps to reckon with how close its members brought the country to a coup. Paxton was reelected in 2018 and also helped his wife, Angela, win a seat in the Texas Senate. The bill he was most proud of, Paxton said in 2005, was one to require all Welcome to Texas signs to also say, Proud Home of President George W. Bush..

he pocketed a fellow lawyers $1,000 Montblanc pen, four are now suing under state whistleblowers laws, help Austin-based real estate developer Nate Paul, with whom the attorney general allegedly had an affair, accused a campaign donor of threatening to kill, Paxton told conservative podcast host Chris Salcedo, abuse investigations into parents of transgender youth, bragged about a win in federal appeals court, dropped human trafficking and child sexual assault cases when it lost track of a victim, one taken during the February 2021 winter storm, endorsed Paxton in his four-way GOP primary, says she would prioritize consumer protection lawsuits, Ken Paxton, Rochelle Garza post million-dollar fundraising in Texas AG race, can no longer unilaterally prosecute voter fraud, Letters to the Editor Frisco ISD, voting, artificial intelligence, Letters to the Editor Plano City Council, Texas business, abortion bills, guns, Letters to the Editor Market Street UMC, April Fools joke, voting laws, China, guns, District 4: Election clash for south Oak Cliffs council seat is about change, Skipping elections could put Texas voters at risk of being purged from rolls under bill, Mavericks, Luka Doncic eliminated from playoff contention with loss to Bulls, Wonderful to welcome you: Asylum-seekers from Chinese church arrive in Dallas-Fort Worth, Access to abortion pill mifepristone uncertain after rulings in Texas, Washington.

On September 24, Paxton triumphantly announced the indictment of a commissioner in a small East Texas county for alleged absentee ballot fraud in a local Democratic primary election. The staffers later texted Paxton, informing him they had made a good faith report of violations of the law by you and demanding a meeting with him. His parents and their three children lived in a trailer, often without air conditioning, parked outside wherever his father was temporarily stationed. Full stop. He didnt send letters to the Cavalier Daily. Allies in Collin County began to inch away. It's us but for your ears. On December 8, less than a week before the Electoral College would meet, Paxton, on behalf of the state of Texas, sued Pennsylvania and three other swing states that had gone for Biden, calling for their results to be thrown out. Paxtons arguments had already been rejected in other courts. birther colleagues questioned Obamas eligibility to appear on the ballot. Paxton circumvented anti-bribery statutes by accepting large sums of money from family friends and former clients for a legal defense fund, including $100,000 from the CEO of a company that was under investigation by the AGs office and the Department of Justice for Medicaid fraud. He has not, like Cruz or Josh Hawley, his partners in the would-be coup, been groomed since his teenage years for the national stage. The Dallas Morning Newss focus isnt on reporting the facts its just targeting conservatives like AG Paxton who are fighting to defend the Constitution in a desperate effort to influence the upcoming election in the final 18 days before the polls close, Kimberly Hubbard, a campaign spokesperson, said in a written statement Thursday. The November election offered Paxton a shot at redemption. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, Paxton declared an agency holiday.

But in a statement immediately following the complaint, he accused the staffers of making false claims. Eventually, his office released a report exonerating him of any wrongdoing. Bates later was name Though he dropped the bid the morning of the vote, the move launched his ascent by marking him as a conservative unafraid of running to the right of fellow Republicans. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. She loves cats, cemeteries and comic books, and cooks a mean steak. By PAUL J. WEBER and JAKE BLEIBERG, Associated Press.

Paxton also went to the police.

A sports injury in college left him A new aspect of their connection emerged Monday when lawyers in a civil case against some of Pauls companies questioned the developer. "I believe he -- I believe he did recommend her," Paul replied. He is delivering a series of attack ads and has built a hefty cash advantage over his opponent, Democrat Rochelle Garza, 37.

After nearly eight years of being buffeted by personal scandals and criminal charges, he says he is the target of powerful enemies who want to bring down one of the most prominent conservative attorneys general in the country.

From the moment the indictments dropped, Paxtons tenure in office was consumed by a desire to survive what he calledin a glimpse of the world to comea witch hunt. While Paxtons staff held down the fort in Austin and supporters financed an ad blitz denouncing the prosecution, the general (as he prefers to be called) was increasingly holed up at home. Here, again, Paxton was a vessel of conveniencesomeone willing to cross a line so others might follow. AP is not naming her because she is not a public figure.

Though he was defeated for the speakership, Paxton continued to fight and was elevated by voters to an open Texas Senate seat the following year. Its not just about Ken Paxton, she told me. His speech was over in three minutes. The appeals court this month handed him another victory in declaring unlawful the immigration program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Some Texas Republicans, including Rep. Chip Roy, a former Paxton deputy, called for him to resign. Three serious primary challengers are already running against him, most notably George P. Bush, the state land commissioner and nephew of President George W. Bush. Time is running out in our short fundraising drive, and we need more help than normal to reach our $300,000 goal.

He has avoided answering questions under oath, and was accused of fleeing his home in September so he wouldnt be served a subpoena in a high-stakes abortion case. Paxton is still awaiting a trial on securities fraud charges in a case that has been stalled for years over legal challenges. Paxton now holds a 14-point lead over Garza, according to a poll the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin released Friday.

Texas AG Ken Paxton leans into controversy, brushes off scandals as he vies for reelection, Two federal civil fraud charges, also stemming from the tech startup case; both were tossed because the judge found, https://www.instagram.com/laurenmcgaughy/, https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-mcgaughy-05b49812/, a campaign donor was threatening to kill him, contentious primary this year against the former presidents nephew, Paxton challenged the Texas House speaker, questioning his GOP opponents conservative bonafides, he was reprimanded and paid a $1,000 civil fine. Knowing this, Paxton leans into the issues he believes his base will respond to. It is hard to keep track of where that case even stands at this point, and that, as much as winning, is sort of the pointthe docket is so impenetrable, the delays a result of so many intervenors and appeals, that it allows Paxton to present himself as the real victim. This time, it was a company called Servergy, which Paxton had pitched to his friends as a cant-miss opportunity, that landed him in trouble.