Texas AG Ken Paxton reaped perks including taxpayer-funded travel, World Cup visit

Days before the Sept. 5 start of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, an Associated Press investigation alleges the Republican official raked in pricy perks of his position including $91,000 in foreign trips funded by taxpayers.

During his nearly 10 years in office, Paxton benefitted from a lavish lifestyle that “raised eyebrows among employees at all levels” of his office, according to the AP story, which is based on state records, legal filings and interviews with former Paxton aides.

Among the allegations aired by the AP:

• Paxton took more international trips than Texas’ governor and lieutenant governor combined, including unexplained trips to Europe and the Caribbean last year that cost taxpayers a total of $91,000.
• He embarked on a previously unreported trip to Qatar to watch the World Cup soccer tournament.
• He purchased a $600 sport coat from a hotel store and billed it to the organizer of the conference he was attending.
• He requested special license plates from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and never paid the $12.50 bill.

In investigation transcripts obtained by the AP, former Paxton deputies spoke in blunt terms about the AG’s spending habits.

”He was all about money,” David Maxwell, the AG’s former head of law enforcement, said in testimony included in the story. “He always had his hand out.”

Paxton faces the Senate trial over allegations of bribery and abuse of office. He’s also the subject of an FBI investigation and is awaiting a criminal trial over a years-old felony securities-fraud indictment.

As Texas attorney general, Paxton draws a $153,000 annual salary. However, a vote by the Texas Senate to remove him from office would “could cost Paxton not just a job but a lifestyle,” the AP wrote.

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This article appears in Aug 23 – Sep 5, 2023.