The D.C.-based organization Accountable.US named Paxton a “top target” of its Enemies of Progress campaign, which aims to “hold conservative attorneys general across the country accountable for preventing progress on some of the country’s toughest challenges,” according to a press release.
The campaign highlights Paxton’s role as an architect of conservatives’ failed effort to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election and his numerous lawsuits challenging the Biden administration’s changes to federal immigration laws. Paxton has launched these challenges as he awaits trial for criminal securities fraud charges from 2015.
“Instead of fighting for their best interests, Attorney General Paxton is spending Texans’ taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits against the Biden administration on behalf of his special interest donors,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US.
“Paxton should consider focusing on his own legal troubles and get out of the Biden administration’s way rather than spending taxpayer-funded resources obstructing much-needed relief for millions of Texas families,” Herrig said.
Paxton’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
An Accountable.US report issued alongside the campaign announcement lists Paxton as first amongst a list of 13 attorneys general who “have consistently acted on behalf of the industries and wealthy contributors backing their political aspirations.”"Paxton should consider focusing on his own legal troubles ... " - Kyle Herrig, Accountable.US
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The report highlights Paxton’s ties to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), a conservative group whose affiliated Rule of Law Defense Fund helped organize the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol protest. RAGA donated nearly $740,000 to Paxton’s 2018 reelection campaign — the second most of any individual donations to his campaign, according to the report.
The campaign comes as Paxton grapples with the latest developments in his legal disputes.
Last month, the State Bar of Texas launched an investigation into Paxton’s efforts to overturn the election to determine if his actions violated its professional misconduct rules.
Around a month after Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election, Paxton filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging unconstitutional changes to voting rules in key battleground states clinched the election for President Joe Biden. The court dismissed the suit three days later.
In a June appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast, Paxton bragged that he used his office to secure victory for Trump in Texas during the 2020 election.
His office successfully blocked Harris County from sending applications for mail-in ballots to all registered voters, a move he said clinched Texas for Trump. “We would've been one of those battleground states that were counting votes in Harris County for three days and Donald Trump would've lost the election," Paxton said.
If found guilty of professional misconduct, Paxton could be disbarred and suspended.
Some two weeks after the State Bar announced its investigation, whistleblowers in a separate ongoing lawsuit against Paxton accused him in court filings of deliberately misconstruing their testimony in an attempt to get the case dismissed. Their accusation is the latest development in a case filed in February by four of Paxton’s aides, who allege Paxton used his office to aid an allies’ business interests.
Meanwhile, Paxton is still awaiting a trial following 2015 felony fraud charges. Paxton is accused of persuading investors to buy stock in a technology firm without disclosing his financial interests in the firm.
Paxton’s legal issues cloud his campaign for reelection in 2022 and have served as attack material for Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who announced his campaign for attorney general last month.
