Feds demand Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign explain more than 100 potentially illegal contributions

Federal regulators are asking Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s U.S. Senate Campaign to explain or return roughly $658,000 in political contributions that appear to violate federal law. 

The Aug. 17 letter from the Federal Election Commission gives the Ken Paxton for Senate campaign a little more than a month to justify five pages worth of second-quarter contributions that — as recorded in its paperwork — exceed federal limits on how much individuals donors can contribute.

Under federal law, individuals are barred from making contributions to a candidate that exceed $3,500 per election. Yet the FEC letter identifies more than 100 contributions to the Republican’s Senate campaign that exceed the limit — many by thousands of dollars. Among the contributions called into question is one from former state lawmaker, Texas Tech chancellor and AT&T executive John Montford, who donated $7,000 to Paxton’s Senate campaign during the quarter.

The FEC letter also asks the Paxton campaign and its treasurer, John Plishka, to offer more details about contributions from five businesses listed in its second-quarter filings as limited liability companies, or LLCs. Under federal law, LLCs may only donate to campaigns if the IRS considers them to be organized as partnerships rather than corporations.

The Current reached out to the Paxton campaign for comment early Monday afternoon but received no response by press time.

The FEC letter gives Plishka until Sept. 22 to either explain the contributions, return them or refile the campaign’s paperwork so they’re correctly accounted for.

“Failure to adequately respond by the response date noted above could result in an audit or enforcement action,” the letter states.

“Although the Commission may take further legal action concerning the acceptance of prohibited contributions, your prompt action to refund the prohibited amount will be taken into consideration,” the FEC also warns.

FEC letters asking campaigns to explain their filings aren’t uncommon, but this one includes an unusually long list of questionable contributions, campaign finance experts note. What’s more, it comes as questions about corruption and Paxton’s political and business ethics swirl around the campaign.

During his tenure as Attorney General, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House over allegations of bribery and abuse of office, although he was later acquitted by the state Senate. Further, Paxton agreed in March to settle a years-long securities-fraud case, and in April, a Travis County district judge awarded $6.6 million to four of the AG’s former aides, who said he improperly fired them after they reported his conduct to the FBI.

Paxton’s Republican primary rival, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, has so far shown a willingness to bring up corruption concerns. While the FEC letter may not prove as powerful a weapon as an impeachment or court judgment, political experts said it could figure into a larger campaign. 

“Cornyn will try to make as much hay as possible with this,” University of Texas at San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor said of the letter.

Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson said red flags in Paxton’s second-quarter filing likely stem from the AG being accustomed to Texas campaign finance rules, which include no upper limits on individual contributions. The FEC letter could prove a potential liability if Cornyn or another Paxton rival can figure out how to effectively weaponize it, the professor added.

“In politics, it’s rarely what you did but what your opponent makes of it,” Jillson said.

Even so, both Taylor and Jillson said corruption allegations directed at Paxton are unlikely to hold much weight with GOP primary voters, who seem eager to overlook the MAGA loyalist’s political baggage in favor of his proximity to Trump and his similar brand of bare-knuckle politics.

It’s also open to question what potential penalties Paxton would even face from the FEC, which has been effectively neutered by Trump.

The independent agency no longer has the minimum number of members to carry out enforcement actions and other business key to its mission. Trump made the unprecedented move in February of firing one of the FEC’s Democratic appointees, and a Republican on the commission who resigned hasn’t been replaced.  

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This article appears in Aug 7-20, 2025.