Republished on 5.27.23
“Need To Reserve Judgment Until Facts Are Known About TAG Paxton”
By Donna Garner
(Originally published on 10.5.20)
[This article was published on EdViews.org on 10.5.20. The webmaster of EdViews.org died, and the malware hackers have taken over EdViews.org links. The public must NEVER click on any EdViews.org links. That is why I am not including the EdViews.org links in this article.]
[COMMENTS FROM DONNA GARNER: I was one of those who was quite critical of Ken Paxton years ago because at the last minute, he let us down by choosing not to allow his name to be put up in the House to run against leftist Speaker of the House Joe Straus. However, since 2015 when he was elected Texas Attorney General, I have followed his legal decisions very carefully. He has done amazing work to elevate conservative policies in our state and has become a true, conservative leader among the other attorneys general in the U. S. who are battling against the extreme leftwing policies of the Democrats.
This entire situation with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that popped up in the last few days seems very confusing to me. I do have to say, however, that I always have grave doubts about anything released as an “October Surprise” right before the elections. Why did seven of his staffers choose right now to raise their concerns?
Below are excerpts from three different sources that seem to give the substance of the allegations against TAG Paxton.
I believe all of us need to reserve judgment until the facts are totally investigated. This is what I would expect to happen to me under the law, and the same “wait for the proof” position should also be afforded to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]
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10.5.20 --
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/ag-paxton-releases-statement-recent-allegations
AUSTIN – FROM TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON RELEASED TODAY:
“The Texas attorney general’s office was referred a case from Travis county regarding allegations of crimes relating to the FBI, other government agencies and individuals. My obligation as attorney general is to conduct an investigation upon such referral. Because employees from my office impeded the investigation and because I knew Nate Paul I ultimately decided to hire an outside independent prosecutor to make his own independent determination. Despite the effort by rogue employees and their false allegations I will continue to seek justice in Texas and will not be resigning.”
10.5.20 – Texas Tribune
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was accused by seven of his most senior aides of bribery and abuse of office last week, will not resign his post as the state’s top lawyer, he said Monday.
Media reports have tied the allegations to Paxton’s relationship with Nate Paul, an Austin real estate developer and Paxton donor. According to the Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman, former First Assistant Attorney General Jeff Mateer and the other officials felt compelled to act after Paxton allegedly appointed a special prosecutor to target “adversaries” of Paul…
Paul is a controversial real estate investor whose net worth Forbes estimated at around $800 million in 2017. His assets include some of Austin’s most prime downtown properties and a smattering of self-storage facilities. But his real estate empire has shown signs of decline, with at least 18 of Paul’s companies declaring bankruptcy in the past year, according to the Austin Business Journal. And in 2019, his home and business office were the targets of an FBI raid, according to local news reports…
…Paxton announced Monday that he would appoint Brent Webster, a former criminal district attorney in Williamson County, as his new first assistant attorney general, replacing Mateer, who resigned Friday and was one of the seven top aides leveling accusations at Paxton.
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10.5.20 – Austin American-Statesman
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s seemingly unilateral appointment of an outside lawyer to take on a huge responsibility — investigating allegations of unlawful conduct by federal investigators in an April 2019 raid — stunned Paxton’s top aides and was among the revelations that led them to launch a criminal complaint against their boss, the American-Statesman has learned.
Houston lawyer Brandon Cammack appeared before a Travis County grand jury on Sept. 28 as a special prosecutor representing Paxton’s office and obtained at least one subpoena to look into allegations made by Austin businessman Nate Paul accusing federal authorities of wrongdoing when they raided his home and offices, according to documents obtained by the Statesman.
After learning Cammack had participated in the court proceedings, a deputy of Paxton’s sent Cammack a cease-and-desist letter stating that he had no authority under state law to serve as a special prosecutor and that by doing so he might have committed a crime…
Reached Sunday, Cammack declined to comment about his role in investigating federal authorities, citing language in his employment contract with the attorney general’s office that prohibits him from speaking with the media.
Online information shows the 34-year-old Cammack is a criminal defense attorney in Houston who has been licensed to practice law since 2015…
Penley filed a motion on Friday in Travis County district court to quash all subpoenas that Cammack had obtained from the grand jury in his role as special prosecutor. State District Judge Geoffrey Puryear granted the motion later that day.
“Only an attorney representing the state may” appear before a grand jury, Penley wrote…
Paul filed a complaint with the Travis County district attorney’s office in May stating that he was at his home on Aug. 14, 2019, when federal authorities arrived unannounced. He said in the complaint that agents refused to show him the search warrant and that they cut internet service to the home, destroyed his security camera system and detained Paul for 90 minutes after they told him he was free to leave.
Paul added that employees who were present when agents raided a downtown office and a computer server room were also denied access to the warrants. Paul also alleged in the complaint that agents never obtained a warrant before searching a third-party file storage vendor’s office and that some search warrants were edited after the raids.
Paul’s attorney declined to comment on Monday.
Don Clemmer, director of the Travis County district attorney’s special prosecutions division, referred Paul’s complaint to Paxton’s office on June 10.
Clemmer, in a letter to the attorney general’s director of law enforcement David Maxwell, wrote that the DA’s office would typically forward such a complaint to the Texas Rangers public integrity unit. But, Clemmer continued, that would be inappropriate in this case because Paul’s complaint also alleged misconduct by a member of the Department of Public Safety, the government agency that houses the Rangers.
Paul also alleged wrongdoing by employees of the State Securities Board, the FBI, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Texas and a federal magistrate.