Tag Archives: FBI

More Paxton evidence released

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A little late, but here it is. Documents released Tuesday by the House impeachment managers reveal closer ties between the contractor who renovated Attorney General Ken Paxton’s home and Nate Paul, the financially troubled Austin real estate investor who was … Continue reading →

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SCOTx rules whistleblowers’ lawsuit can proceed

Posted on September 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas Supreme Court has sided with former top deputies of Attorney General Ken Paxton and cleared the way for their whistleblower lawsuit to move forward. The all-Republican Supreme Court on Friday rejected Paxton’s request to dismiss the lawsuit … Continue reading →

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The whistleblowers say they aren’t going away

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to hear it. In a Monday filing to the Texas Supreme Court, the whistleblowers [Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar] argued that Paxton has failed to uphold key parts of the settlement agreement, including the $3.3 … Continue reading →

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Paxton acquitted on all counts

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of 16 articles of impeachment alleging corruption and bribery, his most artful escape in a career spent courting controversy and skirting consequences of scandal. No article received more than … Continue reading →

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Impeachment trial update: The Senate’s long weekend

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Closing arguments have been made. The prosecution and defense made their closing arguments Friday morning in the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, telling wildly contrasting tales of the eight days of witness testimony. The House impeachment managers insisted … Continue reading →

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Impeachment trial, Week 2: This could actually be the end

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

They’re on the clock. The clock is quite literally running down on the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Monday morning told the Texas Senate — which is serving as the jury — … Continue reading →

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Paxton roundup: The Christian right does not care at all about his alleged infidelity

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the thought that went into this story, but come on. Have we not been paying attention to the last seven years? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton rose to power as a champion of religious liberty, building a passionate … Continue reading →

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Yet another Paxton roundup

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate trial starts in 11 days, and there continues to be so much Paxton news. Political pressure is intensifying around Republican state senators who will serve as the jurors in the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. … Continue reading →

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Who might testify at the Paxton impeachment trial?

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe these people. The names of witnesses for Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial must be submitted to the Texas Senate by Tuesday, but the public won’t know who they are until they’re called to testify. Such witness lists are not public, … Continue reading →

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Yet even more Paxton revelations

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been awhile since I last said Wow, but here I am again saying it. Drew Wicker did not like what he was hearing. The personal assistant to Attorney General Ken Paxton stood in his boss’s kitchen in summer 2020 … Continue reading →

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Still more Paxton revelations

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. In new allegations revealed Wednesday, Texas House investigators accused suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton of engaging in a complex cover-up to hide his relationship with real estate investor Nate Paul as senior … Continue reading →

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Another data point on ransomware

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

And other cybersecurity incidents, from the FBI. A series of cyberattacks across Texas, including some in the Houston region, are part of a growing statewide and national trend of increasingly sophisticated groups working through computers to steal money and information, … Continue reading →

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Grand jury empaneled in Paxton case

Posted on August 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on July 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on July 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

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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