Texas taxpayers picking up tab as Attorney General Ken Paxton fights conduct complaints against him

Texas taxpayers are paying for Attorney General Ken Paxton’s defense as he battles complaints to the State Bar over his widely ridiculed request that the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the 2020 election, Hearst Newspapers reports.

So far, Texans are on the hook for $45,000 of Paxton’s legal expenses, which critics argue affect his individual law license, not his ability to continue as state AG, according to Hearst’s investigation. Under Texas’ constitution, attorneys general aren’t required to be members of the State Bar.

Paxton faces at least three State Bar misconduct complaints over his December lawsuit, which the high court rejected over lack of jurisdiction, Hearst reports. An outspoken defender of President Donald Trump’s Big Lie, Paxton tried to dispute ballots cast in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin in his filing.

“This is about his individual license, which is irrelevant to his position in office, so why shouldn’t he pay for it?” said Jim Harrington, a voting-rights attorney who filed one of the complaints against Paxton told Hearst. “He gets to do this game on Jan. 6, this unconstitutional Supreme Court action, and then turn around and have us pay twice for it? It’s outrageous.”

According to records obtained by the newspaper company, Paxton has billed more than 94 hours to a pair of outside law firm as part of his defense. Republican election attorney Chris Gober had the highest rates at $525 an hour.

Paxton, who spoke at the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally that preceded the Capitol insurrection, is fighting disciplinary action from the State Bar at the same time as he faces state securities fraud charges and a reported FBI investigation over accusations that he abused his office.

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This article appears in Mar 23 – Apr 5, 2022.