Tag Archives: Attorney General

HCC versus Dave Wilson, the continuing story

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a fight over legal fees. Dave Wilson has long been a thorn in the side of Houston Community College trustees. That hasn’t changed now that he’s one of them. Wilson, a controversial figure long before he was elected to … Continue reading →

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State wants delay on immigration appeal

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Of course it does. The Texas Attorney General’s office is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for an extra 30 days to respond to the Obama Administration’s appeal of lower court rulings that have blocked controversial changes in immigration enforcement. The … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton says Ken Paxton’s arrest video can’t be released

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

How convenient. I looked into the unusual situation in which the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was asked to rule on its boss. Here’s what happened. Media organizations requested the video of Paxton’s recent booking into the Collin … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to hear HB2 appeal

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Gird your loins. Setting up what could be a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a legal challenge to Texas’ 2013 abortion law, which could shut down about half of the state’s 19 remaining … Continue reading →

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Who can pay for Ken Paxton’s defense?

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Paxton himself would like to know, though he doesn’t want you to know that he wants to know. In mid-July, a law firm representing an unnamed state official asked the Texas Ethics Commission whether it would be legal under state … Continue reading →

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Yet another Obamacare lawsuit

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some things never get old. n Texas’ latest salvo against Obamacare, Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit over a fee states must help cover to pay for the sweeping federal health reform law. Texas joins Louisiana and Kansas in … Continue reading →

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State goes fishing against Planned Parenthood

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Days after Texas health officials announced they want to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state Medicaid program, state investigators on Thursday visited Planned Parenthood facilities in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. Investigators with the Texas Health … Continue reading →

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Paxton recuses himself from lots of regular AG activity

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Other people in the AG’s office are doing parts of Ken Paxton’s job because right now he can’t. The AG’s office has followed agency policy, state rules and laws to screen Paxton from participating in matters where he may have … Continue reading →

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Thanks but no thanks, Ken

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County will continue to pursue its own lawsuit against VW. Harris County has responded to Ken Paxton’s request to drop its lawsuit against scandal-plagued Volkswagen. Its answer? A polite no. […] In a reply to Paxton dated Oct. 15, … Continue reading →

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Paxton wants to sue VW all by himself

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Really? Seeking to fight scandal-plagued Volkswagen alone, Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking two Texas counties to halt their lawsuits against the automaker — a move highlighting friction between Texas and local governments pursuing tens of millions of dollars in … Continue reading →

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State of Texas sues VW

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Bandwagon time! Following in the footsteps of Harris County and the city of Dallas, the state announced Thursday it is suing Volkswagen in connection with the German automaker’s admitted use of software that allowed its vehicles to circumvent emissions limits. … Continue reading →

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State asks SCOTUS to not take up HB2 appeal

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They win by default that way, so why would they want to have to take their chances? Texas attorney general Ken Paxton on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to turn away a legal challenge to the state’s abortion restrictions … Continue reading →

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Oral arguments in birth certificate lawsuit

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman heard oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by a group of undocumented parents and their U.S.-citizen children against the state Department of State Health Services, which has effectively blocked the children from … Continue reading →

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Why Ken Paxton isn’t going anywhere

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s as simple as one: In a rare public appearance since his indictment in late July, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made an appeal for more Christian involvement in politics as he addressed the congregation at First Baptist Grapevine on … Continue reading →

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Still more on Paxton

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer takes a deeper dive into the dirty life and times of Ken Paxton. When Paxton was elected to the Texas House in 2002, his yearly personal financial disclosure form was essentially a blank slate, listing little more than … Continue reading →

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$8 million and counting for voter ID litigation

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ka-ching. Republicans used their majority in 2011 to muscle through the Legislature a controversial voter ID law and new redistricting maps — and Texas taxpayers haven’t stopped picking up the bill for the state to defend those measures in courts … Continue reading →

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When might we get a Supreme Court ruling on school finance?

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

When they’re damn good and ready is the usual answer for Supreme Court rulings, but in the case of school finance lawsuits they usually act with some measure of speed. Given past rulings and politics — three justices on the … Continue reading →

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Paxton the political advisor

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. The former CEO of the technology firm tied to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s securities fraud indictment told investigators he paid the then-lawmaker to provide information on how to market his product to government agencies, according to a new … Continue reading →

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State gets the bill for fighting same sex marriage

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Please pay promptly. The attorneys for same-sex couples who successfully challenged Texas’ gay marriage ban in federal court are seeking nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in fees and costs from the state. In a 27-page motion filed Friday, attorneys … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s contempt saga officially ends

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure he’s so relieved. A federal judge has canceled next week’s contempt-of-court hearing for Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying it is not needed because Texas government agencies have begun acknowledging same-sex marriages. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia had ordered … Continue reading →

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Churches and recall elections

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Are Texas churches prohibited from campaigning to recall politicians? The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals [weighed] that question Thursday in a case set to clarify if and how a church as a corporate entity … Continue reading →

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Abortion providers go to SCOTUS

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope this works out. Texas abortion providers on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their legal challenge to two provisions of the state’s strict abortion law. After losing at the appellate level, a coalition of … Continue reading →

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Once again to the Supreme Court for school finance

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Like deja vu all over again, and again and again and… The Texas Supreme Court is again faced with determining whether the state’s method of funding public schools is unconstitutional, the latest in a series of school finance challenges stretching … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court to hear school finance appeal

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We near the end of the road. This road, anyway. Shut out by lawmakers in their efforts to overhaul the state’s troubled education funding system, more than 600 school districts are now pinning their hopes for relief on the Texas … Continue reading →

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State asks for full Fifth Circuit review of voter ID ruling

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As you’d expect them to do. Continuing to protect a voter identification law that courts say discriminates against Hispanics and African Americans, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked a full federal appeals court to hear his arguments about why … Continue reading →

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Hegar punts LBB veto issue to Paxton

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Duck! Describing the debate as one that “goes to the heart of separation of powers within Texas government,” Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Wednesday that he will not authorize more than $200 million in funds approved by the Texas Legislature but … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s first day in court

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It was a little weird. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday pleaded not guilty to violating state securities laws, while also telling the judge presiding over his felony case that he currently does not have an attorney. Joe Kendall, … Continue reading →

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The latest skeevy Ken Paxton story

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This guy. I swear. Tanner Hunt, son of Dallas oil billionaire Ray Hunt, texted the mother of his two young daughters in the fall of 2011 for a picture of the girls in their Halloween costumes. The next day, he … Continue reading →

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Paxton asks to be excused from contempt hearing

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

He promises he’s been a good boy, so can he please come out of time out now? Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office says he shouldn’t face a contempt hearing for failing to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage … Continue reading →

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Poll suggests Republicans don’t support Paxton

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

That’s gotta sting. A poll of likely Republican voters in Texas found that 62 percent believe Attorney General Ken Paxton should resign in the wake of his indictment on alleged securities-law violations, the group that commissioned it said. The poll … Continue reading →

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Paxton reindicted

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

On the same charges, with slightly different wording. After re-filing indictments against Attorney General Ken Paxton in his securities fraud case, two special prosecutors are pushing back against criticism from Paxton’s attorney, who says the recent action shows that they … Continue reading →

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State ordered to pay fees in redistricting litigation

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They don’t seem to be interested in doing that, however. In a scolding tone, a federal appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., ordered the state of Texas on Tuesday to pay more than $1 million in attorneys’ fees in a … Continue reading →

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Securities Board appeals Paxton’s pal’s sanction

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

“A pattern of deceit” indeed. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s role in promoting Frederick “Fritz” Mowery’s investment firm helps prove a pattern of deceiving clients and covering up financial troubles, the Texas State Securities Board said Friday. Last month, two judges … Continue reading →

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On succeeding, and defending, Ken Paxton

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsay: While Ken Paxton fights to avoid convictions and jail time on indictments alleging securities violations — and to keep his job as Texas attorney general — a muted and unofficial conversation about who will succeed him is already … Continue reading →

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