Tag Archives: FBI

Grand jury empaneled in Paxton case

Well, well, well. Federal prosecutors have seated a grand jury in San Antonio and called witnesses close to suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to testify, two sources with knowledge of the investigation told the American-Statesman. The purpose of the … Continue reading

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A brief Nate Paul update

For those of you who like this sort of thing. You know who you are. The Texas Supreme Court denied an appeal on Friday by indicted real estate developer Nate Paul to reverse a judgment against him worth millions of … Continue reading

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The Brandon Cammack files

The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton may help answer some questions about one of the more brazen (alleged) attempts by Paxton to help his buddy Nate Paul. More than a year before Ken Paxton would be impeached by the Texas … Continue reading

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San Marcos sanctioned in Trump Train lawsuit

What a cluster. A federal judge has sanctioned San Marcos for failing to preserve phone and email records from a former employee related to the October 2020 “Trump Train” incident involving a Biden-Harris campaign bus. Campaign staffers and volunteers filed … Continue reading

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There’s still more Paxton stuff to investigate

He’s the grift that keeps on giving. The Texas House investigation into impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton has reportedly widened to include a series of property purchases he made as he faced a federal probe over allegations that he abused … Continue reading

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Add Stephen F. Austin University to the list of recent cyberattack victims

Not a lot of detail here, but these things are never good. More than a week after Stephen F. Austin State University was hit with a cyberattack, leaders at the public university in the East Texas Pineywoods are still working … Continue reading

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Another Paxton roundup

The hits keep on coming… So, just how transparent is this Senate trial going to be? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has promised maximum transparency in the impeachment trial for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, but trial rules recently adopted by … Continue reading

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Nate Paul arrested by feds

Well, well, well. Nate Paul, the Austin real estate developer central to allegations of illegal conduct by Ken Paxton, Texas’ now-suspended attorney general, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday. Paul was booked into the Travis County Jail at 4:25 … Continue reading

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Two thoughts on the whole impeachment thing

Let’s start with the obvious, which is the “Why now?” question. A lot of people seem to be mystified. Why, after nearly a decade of Ken Paxton’s criming, did the House General Investigations Committee decide to go all scorched earth … Continue reading

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Post-impeachment pre-trial roundup

Some more links of interest relating to the Paxton impeachment-a-thon. I suspect that as more reporters and columnists read the House General Investigations Committee’s report we will see more stories that zoom in on the particulars of his offenses. For … Continue reading

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House impeaches Paxton

For the third time in as many days, I say Wow. In a history-making late-afternoon vote, a divided Texas House chose Saturday to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, temporarily removing him from office over allegations of misconduct that included bribery … Continue reading

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Impeach-a-palooza

The impeachment debate in the House will happen today. The Texas House intends to take up a resolution to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton at 1 p.m. Saturday, according to a memo from the House General Investigating Committee. Citing Paxton’s “long-standing pattern of abuse of … Continue reading

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House General Investigations Committee votes to impeach Paxton

Once again, I say Wow. In an unprecedented move, a Texas House committee voted Thursday to recommend that Attorney General Ken Paxton be impeached and removed from office, citing a yearslong pattern of alleged misconduct and lawbreaking that investigators detailed … Continue reading

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House General Investigations Committee goes hard after Paxton

Wow. A Texas House committee heard stunning testimony Wednesday from investigators over allegations of a yearslong pattern of misconduct and questionable actions by Attorney General Ken Paxton, the result of a probe the committee had secretly authorized in March. In … Continue reading

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No Paxton settlement money in the budget

The Lege takes a stand. Texas budget negotiators want to ban Attorney General Ken Paxton from using state funds to pay a $3.3 million whistleblower settlement. This week, they adopted a provision that would bar the Office of the Attorney General from using … Continue reading

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Houston’s violent crime rate drops in 2023

I have three things to say about this. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday touted his crime initiative as the reason behind a double-digit year-to-year reduction in violent crime in the first quarter of 2023, but experts say the figures mirror wider national trends and warned … Continue reading

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Two “Trump Train” defendants settle

Interesting. Two of the eight Trump supporters accused of participating in a “politically-motivated conspiracy” by closely following, honking at and slowing down a campaign bus for President Joe Biden on a Texas highway in the weeks leading up to the … Continue reading

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The Lege still doesn’t want to pay for Paxton’s whistleblower sins

Who can blame them? Now midway through the legislative session, Paxton and state lawmakers are at a standstill, and taxpayers are caught in the middle. Lawmakers have so far declined to include the settlement money in any budget bills, while … Continue reading

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The whistleblowers’ un-settlement

Plot twist! The whistleblowers who sued Attorney General Ken Paxton say they’re headed back to court unless he agrees that the Legislature must approve their proposed $3.3 million settlement before the current legislative session ends in May. They are the … Continue reading

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One small gun loophole may get closed

Take your wins where you can find them. Texas lawmakers are working to plug a gap in a 2009 law that was meant to keep people with a history of serious mental health issues from legally acquiring firearms. Bipartisan legislation … Continue reading

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So about that DPS delay in notifying the victims of the credential stuffing attack

Here’s their explanation. [DPS Director Steve] McCraw said DPS officials kept the news under wraps to avoid jeopardizing the agency’s investigation, including efforts to arrest the fraudsters who organized the scheme. The explanation came in response to questioning from state … Continue reading

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DPS victimized by credential stuffing attack

That’s the technical term for this. The Texas Department of Public Safety was duped into shipping at least 3,000 Texas driver’s licenses to a Chinese organized crime group that targeted Asian Texans, DPS Director Steve McCraw told a Texas House … Continue reading

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Paxton makes his plea to the Lege

It’s more accurate to say that one of his assistants pleaded for him while he mostly sat silent, but whatever. Days after the Texas house speaker openly opposed using taxpayer dollars to settle a whistleblower suit against Attorney General Ken … Continue reading

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Why should Ken Paxton’s whistleblowers suffer for his sins?

That’s the question their lawyers ask in a DMN op-ed. The whistleblower suit is currently pending at the Texas Supreme Court on appeal of an esoteric argument made by the attorney general. Recently, the Office of the Attorney General and … Continue reading

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So will the Lege pay off Paxton’s whistleblowers or not?

It’s maybe a bit more complicated than I thought at first. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan says he is against using taxpayer money to pay Attorney General Ken Paxton’s $3.3 million settlement agreement in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by four … Continue reading

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Paxton federal corruption probe moved to DOJ

This is a little confusing at first, but it has some good news in there. Justice Department officials in Washington have taken over the corruption investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, removing the case from the hands of the … Continue reading

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Paxton settles with whistleblowers

Meh. Attorney General Ken Paxton and four of his former top deputies who said he improperly fired them after they accused him of crimes have reached a tentative agreement to end a whistleblower lawsuit that would pay those employees $3.3 … Continue reading

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DCAD’s ransomware experience

A story of great interest to me. On Election Day 2022, Dallas County Chief Appraiser Ken Nolan and his staff showed up for work, but there was an unexpected problem. Nothing worked. The Dallas Central Appraisal District’s desktop computers, all … Continue reading

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Paxton seeks settlement with some of the whistleblower plaintiffs

Very interesting. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal team is in settlement negotiation talks with three of the four former employees who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against him for firing them after they accused Paxton of criminal acts. Paxton’s lawyers, … Continue reading

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More on the collegiate TikTok bans

An interesting perspective from a professor in Texas. The bans have come in states where governors, like Texas’s Greg Abbott, have blocked TikTok from state-issued computers and phones. Employers can generally exercise control over how employees use the equipment they … Continue reading

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So is Henry Cuellar still being investigated by the FBI?

It’s been a year since his home was raided. Is there another shoe to drop? Last January, FBI agents raided U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s home and office in Laredo, emerging with a computer and plastic bins and bags containing personal … Continue reading

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UT bans TikTok on campus WiFi

This feels like a bit of an overreaction to me, but we’ll see if others follow suit. The University of Texas at Austin has blocked access to the video-sharing app TikTok on its Wi-Fi and wired networks in response to … Continue reading

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Abbott bans TikTok on state-issued devices

Honestly, I’m fine with this. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday a ban of the popular app TikTok from all government-issued devices. In a news release, the Republican said the Chinese government could use the app to access critical U.S. infrastructure … Continue reading

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A True the Vote twofer

An update on a different lawsuit they’re involved in. A disgruntled supporter of the True the Vote campaign to find voter fraud in the 2020 election preserved a claim on appeal, at least temporarily, against the organization’s law firm. While … Continue reading

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