After months of hinting at a run for U.S. Senate, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's path has become clearer since the dismissal of a federal investigation.

The Justice Department quietly decided in the final weeks of the Biden administration not to prosecute Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, effectively ending the corruption investigation that cast a long shadow over the political career of a close Republican ally of President Donald Trump.

The Texas real estate developer whose relationship with state Attorney General Ken Paxton was at the center of the Republican’s historic impeachment trial in 2023 has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of lying to a financial institution.

During the impeachment trial, whistleblowers testified they believed Paul to be a criminal and were concerned that Paxton was essentially turning the keys of the office over to him.

A Texas businessman at the center of the scandal that led to the historic impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton has been charged with additional federal crimes.

Only two of 19 Republican Senators voted in favor of convicting for any article — a stark contrast to the more than 70% of House Republicans who impeached the attorney general in May.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been acquitted of all charges at his impeachment trial.

The GOP-dominated Texas Senate has acquitted fellow Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Senators will hear closing arguments beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, after which they will deliberate in private before emerging to cast votes on whether the attorney general can remain in office.

The House prosecutors failed to call a star witness and battled with the defense attorneys over allegations the suspended attorney general had been bribed by Nate Paul.

A woman who was expected to testify about an extramarital affair with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a sudden appearance Wednesday at his impeachment trial.

Darren McCarty said the attorney general, his former boss, approached the Mitte Foundation lawsuit with “urgency and anxiety” — and a focus on helping his friend and political donor.

Houston lawyer Brandon Cammack said he was excited to help the attorney general’s office with a criminal investigation. But after a whirlwind month, he was fired without payment and felt he’d “gotten the rug pulled out from me.”

A Paxton whistleblower testified that the attorney general took an unusual interest in Nate Paul’s litigation against a charity in 2020. Another said Paul benefited from an opinion on foreclosures.

A junior lawyer testifying at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial says he kept Paxton informed as he launched a criminal investigation into law enforcement officials at the behest of a wealthy donor to Paxton.

Mark Penley testified that Paxton made numerous negative comments about the Texas Department of Public Safety because of his 2015 securities fraud case. “He doesn’t trust the [DPS] director and he feels like they ran a corrupt investigation on him,” he said.

One of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s former staffers says that the Republican’s extramarital affair took a toll on employees who had to work long and odd hours because of the secret relationship that is now a factor in his impeachment trial.

One whistleblower testified that Ken Paxton didn’t trust law enforcement after his own securities fraud indictment. Senators could begin deliberating the impeachment charges later this week.

The suspended attorney general’s lawyers focused on disloyalty and attacked evidence, while impeachment managers accused Paxton of excessive and obsessive misconduct. Neither side ignored the politics behind the case.

A former Texas lawman says he told Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2020 that he was risking indictment by by helping a donor under FBI investigation.

The former top cop for the attorney general’s office testified that complying with real estate investor Nate Paul’s requests would have amounted to criminal activity. Defense attorneys also questioned whistleblowers about their group texts.

The impeachment trial that could remove Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from office over corruption allegations is near the halfway point.

Former attorney general officials testified that Ken Paxton pushed to release confidential FBI records to friend and donor Nate Paul. They also denied defense attorneys’ assertions that they staged a “mutiny.”

On the second day of the impeachment trial, former officials in the attorney general’s office say Ken Paxton’s relationship with real estate investor Nate Paul raised alarms. Defense attorney accused the witnesses of “staging a coup.”

After senators rejected the suspended attorney general’s bid to dismiss all accusations against him, lawyers for both sides laid out their cases and impeachment managers called their first witness.

On the first day of the impeachment trial, senators rejected defense attorneys’ attempts to dismiss all 16 articles of impeachment. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also ruled that Ken Paxton couldn’t be forced to testify.

The impeachment trial that starts Tuesday is expected to center on Paxton’s infidelity, and could air out the sordid details of the staunch, Christian conservative’s life as he sits just yards away from his wife, and her 30 Senate colleagues.

The articles — including bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard of official duty — do not include four accusations originally adopted by the Texas House.

The suspended attorney general has been ordered to appear in the Texas Senate chamber to answer to 16 allegations of misconduct that were approved by the House in May.

Paul personally chose targets and drafted language for subpoenas issued by Brandon Cammack, an outside lawyer hired by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton hired Cammack to investigate his friend’s complaints after his own deputies advised him against it.

Before 30 senators take on their role as impeachment trial jurors, they face a series of momentous decisions on whether to dismiss the charges as requested by the attorney general.

After Paxton’s lawyers sought to dismiss articles of impeachment as unsubstantiated, House managers responded by accusing the suspended attorney general of going to great lengths to cover up his relationship to the real estate investor.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that the grand jury has been convened in San Antonio. The identities of the witnesses and the focus of the inquiry remain unclear.

A Texas real estate developer at the center of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in federal court.

In 2020, deputies in the attorney general’s office met with FBI agents to accuse their boss of misconduct. Their accusations would form the backbone of articles of impeachment against one of the state’s most powerful officials.

Once high-ranking officials in the attorney general’s office, the four were fired after reporting concerns about Paxton’s behavior to law enforcement.

In this week’s episode, we discuss the arrest of Austin developer Nate Paul, what it might say about Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial and whether it makes Paxton more vulnerable to criminal prosecution.

The Austin real estate investor was a central figure in allegations that led the Texas House to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton last month. One of the charges against Paul has ties the impeachment allegations.

A Texas businessman at the center of the scandal that led to the historic impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton has been charged with eight counts of making false statements to mortgage lenders to obtain $172 million in loans.

It is not immediately clear what Paul was charged with, but Travis County officials confirmed he was being held in the jail at the request of the FBI. Paxton’s deputies accused Paul of bribing the now-suspended attorney general in 2020.

FBI agents have arrested a Texas businessman at the center of the scandal that led to the historic impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The defense team includes the agency’s chief appellate lawyer and head of its general litigation division.

The long list of accusations were outlined as part of 20 charges of impeachment adopted by the Texas House.

The Texas House will vote on accusations that include bribery, dereliction of duty, disregard of official duty and obstruction of justice.

Many allegations against Paxton were already known, but the airing of them revealed the scope of the investigation by the committee, which has the power to recommend censure or impeachment.

The Austin real estate developer is central to allegations that his friend, Attorney General Ken Paxton, abused his office to help Paul’s business affairs.

The judge also issued a fine of almost $182,000, citing Paul’s conduct in a legal dispute with an Austin nonprofit.

In a statement, the attorneys for the four former top deputies who accused Attorney General Ken Paxton of crimes said state employees “cannot be expected to report government corruption in the future if they know the Legislature won’t back their rights.”

Paxton’s lawyer had argued that federal prosecutors based out of San Antonio had an “obvious conflict” in the investigation.

The former aides are taking issue with a brief and a press release issued this month in which Paxton’s lawyers asked an appeals court to throw out the case. The aides allege Paxton fired them for reporting his alleged illegal behavior to authorities.

She instead permitted testimony on a request for a temporary injunction that would allow two of the whistleblowers to have their jobs in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office back. Lawyers representing the attorney general’s office continued Monday to argue the suit should be dismissed on procedural grounds. That included testimony from Jeff Mateer, the former first assistant attorney general. Mateer testified that the group of employees alleging criminal conduct had a “good faith belief” the attorney general had violated state law. And Mateer testified that Paxton’s office previously sent him a letter cautioning him against sharing any conversations that were still protected by attorney-client privilege.

FILE - In this June 28, 2020 file photo, Texas' Attorney General Ken Paxton waits on the flight line for the arrival of Vice President Mike Pence at Love Field in Dallas. Following the remarkable revolt that riled Texas politics, all of Paxton’s accusers quit or were fired and four later sued the attorney general under the state’s whistleblower law. The claim sheds new light on a possible motive for the acts that have brought Texas' top lawyer under federal scrutiny. Paxton has not been charged with a crime in the FBI probe, and the attorney general has broadly denied wrongdoing. The attorney general has spent most of his time in office under felony indictment.

AUSTIN – Late last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fired multiple senior aides who accused him of accepting a bribe. In return, the aides allege, Paxton used his office to help Paul’s business interests, investigate Paul’s adversaries and help settle a lawsuit. Angela Paxton’s office declined comment for this story. According to the filing, Paxton also directed top aides to issue a legal opinion that would help Paul’s business interests. Weeks after the whistleblowers reported Paxton for his behavior, two of the plaintiffs were placed on leave before being terminated.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)DALLAS – A Texas lawyer says he found a tracking device on his pickup truck during an escalating court battle with a businessman at the center of an FBI investigation into Attorney General Ken Paxton. A person familiar with the matter said the FBI is investigating the origins of the tracking devices. His defenses attorney, Philip Hilder, declined to comment when asked about the tracking devices Monday. “Anyone who resorts to installing illegal tracking devices on the vehicles of their adversaries is either highly motivated, desperate, unstable, or completely oblivious to the consequences,” Byers said. Two weeks later, Lemmon questioned Paul about tracking devices under oath.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, look toward the Senate Gallery at the Texas Capitol on Jan. 12, 2021. They are not just asking the court to prohibit discovery from the office and Ken Paxton. But the attorney general’s office claims the agency cannot be sued under the law because Paxton is an elected official. “The Attorney General is neither a governmental entity nor a public employee and, thus, the Whistleblower Act does not extend protection to reports of unlawful conduct made against the Attorney General personally,” the agency argued. “It appears that General Paxton is trying to get off on a technicality that doesn't exist,” he added.

You wouldn’t expect the most popular politician in the state’s majority party to get in trouble with members of his own party’s self-styled Liberty wing. Here are some of my columns on subjects I didn’t expect to be writing about last year. Ken Paxton, the current AG, is in a situation now that could determine which way his career will go. Greg Abbott and his own partyVoting in the 2020 general election starts in Texas in less than three weeks. Nov. 11A digital divide with dire consequences for TexasThe new coronavirus has forced Texans online for education, commerce, work and entertainment.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office told a state district court on Monday that it was not retaliating when it fired former top Paxton aides who had reported their boss to authorities for possibly breaking the law. The agency “generally denies each and every claim and allegation” made by the whistleblowers, attorneys for the state wrote in the brief filing. The attorney general’s office did not answer questions about how much the outside lawyers are being paid. Most strikingly, Paxton hired an outside attorney to probe claims by Paul that federal and state authorities had mistreated Paul in a raid on his home and office in 2019. Paxton hired the outside lawyer, top aides say, even though agency staff had already vetted Paul’s allegations and found them meritless.

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The Texas Attorney General’s Office has fired the last remaining whistleblower who alleged Ken Paxton broke the law in doing favors for a political donor — just days after aides had sued the agency alleging they suffered retaliation for making the report. The three others who reported Paxton to law enforcement have resigned. Paul also revealed in an unrelated deposition that he hired a woman at Paxton’s recommendation, though he said doing so was not a favor to the attorney general. Vassar, as a senior aide, played a role in communicating with the attorney, Brandon Cammack, including drafting a contract for him, at Paxton’s direction, the lawsuit says.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention in Dallas on Oct. 19, 2017. Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas TribuneNeed to stay updated on coronavirus news in Texas? The full scope of Paxton’s relationship with Paul remains unclear, though Paul has characterized it as friendly. The woman had been involved in an extramarital affair with Paxton, according to two people who said the attorney general told them of the relationship in 2018. And in September, Paxton hired an outside attorney to evaluate a complaint by Paul that he had been mistreated during an FBI raid on his property in 2019. Paxton’s own staff, the whistleblowers say, had already vetted the allegations and found them meritless, but Paxton continued to push the investigation.

DALLAS – The FBI is investigating allegations that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton broke the law in using his office to benefit a wealthy donor, according to two people with knowledge of the probe. A criminal defense attorney for Paxton, Philip Hilder, declined to comment. Spokespersons in the attorney general's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It’s unclear how far the FBI is into investigating the allegations against Paxton. In 2018, Paul donated $25,000 to the attorney general's reelection campaign.

In September, top employees of Paxton’s office reported him to federal authorities for alleged crimes they say he committed in assisting Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. Paxton’s office and a lawyer for Paul did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. Last week, Paul said in a deposition that Paxton recommended a woman for her job with the developer’s company. The outside lawyer obtained 39 grand jury subpoenas that were beyond “the appropriate scope” of the case, the complaint states. They've also asked local prosecutors to fine Paxton $15,000 for each violation of the Texas Whistleblower Act.

Maxwell and Penley — who had been on leave for a month before their termination — are two of the four senior aides who sued the Texas attorney general’s office Thursday, claiming they suffered unlawful retaliation. The 37-page whistleblower suit provides a detailed look at many of the favors that top aides say Paxton did for Paul. The attorney general’s office had already declined to get involved in the case, but Paxton directed the agency to reverse itself and intervene. In late July, according to the lawsuit, Paxton directed top aides to issue a legal opinion that would prove critical for Paul’s business interests. Emails Brown sent the agency show he was concerned about allowing the attorney general’s office — or Paxton himself — to direct a probe that would ultimately lead to prosecution.

The woman Paul hired was involved in a romantic, extramarital relationship with Paxton, two people told the Tribune on Wednesday. Paul’s attorney, Michael Wynne, did not respond to several questions from the Tribune, including inquiries about the nature of the investigation at the attorney general’s office. The attorneys also asked Paul about some of the legal matters in which actions of the attorney general’s office have benefitted Paul. “Are you familiar with the opinion letter issued by the attorney general’s office regarding foreclosures that was issued this summer?” Chester asked. So it was routine that the attorney general's office was alerted to the lawsuit.

Spokespersons for the attorney general did not respond to questions Thursday. Under questioning during the deposition, Paul said he did not know how the woman he hired and the attorney general knew each other. The move prompted the remarkable rebellion by seven senior lawyers on his staff, who since reporting the attorney general to federal authorities have all resigned, been put on leave or fired. During the deposition, Paul said the former Senate aide applied for a posted job and now works for him as a project manager. The attorney general told the group he had an affair but had since ended it and recommitted to his marriage, the person said.

David Maxwell, the agency’s director of law enforcement, and Mark Penley, the deputy attorney general for criminal justice, have been fired. Paxton ultimately hired an outside attorney to look into the matter, sparking a staff mutiny during which top aides accused Paxton of using the agency to serve Paul’s financial interests. Maxwell has been at the attorney general’s office since 2014 and in law enforcement for some fifty years. He is well-known in Texas law enforcement circles, where he became famous for identifying the man who killed his sister decades after her death. Two other top aides who accused Paxton of criminal violations — Blake Brickman and Lacey Mase — were fired last month.

The developer accuses 11 people of an intricate fraud that was allegedly set to include the judge and another court-appointed official facilitating a “rigged auction." The signed, 10-page “request to investigate" is one of two from Paul that were referred to Paxton’s office, setting off the remarkable revolt by the Republican’s staff. Paul’s complaint is largely based on things he says he heard second-hand. The second was sent to Cammack because he was already looking into Paul's allegations and it dealt with a federal judge, Moore told AP. Moore said she personally reviewed Paul’s claims only after the allegations by Paxton’s staff became public.

Mark Penley, the deputy attorney general for criminal justice, was put on leave weeks ago, shortly after reporting Paxton to law enforcement, top aides have said. A sixth employee, Director of Law Enforcement David Maxwell, was also placed on leave earlier this month. The Texas Attorney General’s Office has failed to respond to repeated requests to confirm the employment status of the whistleblowers, and has not provided any explanation for why Mase and Brickman were fired. The actions against Penley, Maxwell, Brickman, Mase and Vassar all occurred squarely within that three month window. Employment attorneys said placing a whistleblower on leave could qualify as an “adverse personnel action” under the law depending on the circumstances.

It was Attorney General Ken Paxton, who Cammack had never spoken to, personally asking him to interview for a high-profile assignment. Now, both Paxton and Cammack are defending their roles in a scandal that has brought calls for Paxton to resign and set the agency at war with itself. Paxton said he hired Cammack to investigate whether warrants were illegally altered when agents raided Paul’s home and office. Cammack declined to answer questions about his work for the agency or speculate as to why Paxton called him about the job. Wynne this weekend accused staff in the attorney general’s office of mishandling his client’s complaint and meeting him with open hostility before Paxton brought on Cammack as an outside investigator.

Paxton, in a process senior aides called improper, hired an inexperienced outside attorney to investigate Paul’s complaint against state and federal authorities who raided his home and office last year. That outside attorney’s work has gone beyond the scope of that complaint against authorities, the aides alleged, and targeted institutions where Paul has financial interests with subpoenas. Paul’s complaint alleged wrongdoing by federal authorities, including the FBI and a federal magistrate. It was filed with Travis County authorities but ended up at the attorney general’s office in June 2020 after Paxton sought a meeting with Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore. Wynne, Paul and Cammack met “a few times” in September, Wynne said.

In a letter sent Sunday, a lawyer for Austin real estate developer Nate Paul wrote that Paxton's staff was always hostile to the probe. Paul’s attorney, Michael Wynne, said he learned from media reports late Friday that the investigation was closed. “We were never contacted by the OAG regarding this apparently pressured decision, and as such question whether this was in fact an accurate and a legitimate communication from your office,” Wynne said. Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. The judge said Wynne sued on behalf of shell companies controlled by Paul and created to intervene in the case.

Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke to the Gun Owners of America assembly in 2018. Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas TribuneSenior officials in the Texas Attorney General’s Office told their boss, Ken Paxton, on Wednesday that he subverted his office to serve the financial interests of a political donor, according to an email obtained by The Texas Tribune. Their concerns stem from Paxton’s appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate claims made by Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor and donor, of alleged impropriety by federal and state authorities. But several subpoenas served by the prosecutor, the aides said in the email, "related to private business concerns of Nate Paul" — and were not the subject of the “narrow criminal referral” he was appointed to investigate. “We urge you to end this course of conduct immediately.”Paxton did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. But he has called the allegations “false” and the employees “rogue.”This story is developing.

DALLAS – When Texas’ attorney general needed someone to probe a claim by one of his wealthy political donors alleging crimes by the FBI, he turned to a junior Houston lawyer with no prosecutorial experience, a modest criminal defense practice and ties to the donor’s defense attorney. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton said his own staff had been working to “impede the investigation” into real estate developer Nate Paul's allegations against federal law enforcement. And social media posts show Cammack and Paul’s defense attorney, Michael Wynne, are connected on Facebook and are both part of a Houston civics organization. Paxton’s choice of outside counsel raises further questions about a decision that has deepened political, and possibly legal, trouble for the attorney general. Michael Wynne, Paul's attorney and a former federal prosecutor, is the chair of the Houston Bar Association’s criminal law and procedure section, and Cammack was elected to serve in that role next.

Working to clear his name in the face of fresh criminal allegations, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released new information Wednesday addressing the claims seven senior aides made last week that he ran afoul of the law. Instead they offer more detail about the timeline of the Texas attorney general’s office’s work on the case. Paxton said he hired outside counsel for the job “because employees of the Texas Attorney General impeded the investigation, and because the Attorney General knew Nate Paul.” Paxton has not explained how his employees have impeded any investigation. Ryan Vassar, deputy attorney general for legal counsel, exchanged emails with Cammack in early September as he signed the agency’s contract. The release of the documents comes as Paxton combats what he has called “false allegations” from “rogue employees.” Top state leaders have called the allegations concerning, but Paxton has said he will not be resigning as attorney general.

“Another World Class Project,” reads one posted to the metal siding of a squat industrial building downtown. World Class Capital Group has acquired an enviable portfolio of some of Austin’s choicest parcels with ambitious plans to lease or develop them. The investigation remained active as recently as April, though no criminal charges have been filed, according to the Austin Business Journal. And now he has been linked to bribery and abuse-of-office allegations made against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In 2017, he drove a Forbes reporter around Austin in a Bentley to point out his real estate holdings.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is in hot water again. Paxton, a 57-year-old Republican, has served as the attorney general of Texas since January 2015. Previously, Paxton served as a Texas state senator and a state representative. As attorney general, Paxton is Texas’ top lawyer. Paxton on Monday announced he would appoint Brent Webster, a former criminal district attorney in Williamson County, as his new first assistant attorney general to replace Mateer.

FILE - In this June 28, 2020 file photo, Texas State's Attorney General Ken Paxton waits on the flight line for the arrival of Vice President Mike Pence at Love Field in Dallas. Roy said in a Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, statement that Paxton must resign for the good of the people of Texas. Paxton asked a Houston lawyer to act as special prosecutor in the investigation of Paul's claims, the newspapers reported. Paxton's defense attorney, Philip Hilder, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "Rooting out corruption is on the ballot," Manny Garcia, the Texas Democratic Party’s deputy executive director, said in a statement.