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Court rules State Bar of Texas can pursue disciplinary action against Ken Paxton

The bar sought to punish the Texas Attorney General over allegations he made false claims in a suit filed to overturn the 2020 election.

By Sanford Nowlin on Fri, Apr 19, 2024 at 5:08 pm

Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore

Ken Paxton (right) has used public funds to promote the interests of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton can face disciplinary action from the state bar association over his failed bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election, a Texas appeals court ruled Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

In 2022, a State Bar of Texas disciplinary committee accused Paxton — a Republican and ally of Donald Trump — of misconduct on accusations that he made untrue allegations of fraud in a lawsuit he filed with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to nullify President Joe Biden's legitimate win.

In Thursday's ruling, a three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeals said the state bar is legally cleared to penalize Paxton because the committee is seeking to punish his personal action as a lawyer and not an action carried out in his capacity as attorney general, the AP reports.

The State Bar of Texas' range of available sanctions against Paxton range from written warnings to disbarment, according to the AP. Whatever the penalty, he isn't required under state law to be a bar member to serve as attorney general.

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