Critics are calling on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to step down following indictments that he defrauded clients. The reaction is similar to what happened to former Attorney General Jim Mattox following his own indictment while in office.
Like Paxton, there were critics calling for Mattox’s resignation in 1983 after being indicted for commercial bribery. This continued even after Mattox was acquitted. Glenn Smith, who worked as a reporter for the Houston Post covering the Mattox indictment, says “Anytime a politician has serious brushes with the law, they don’t come out completely unscathed. Even if they are acquitted of any particular charges, I think it hurts their reputation to be seen walking close to the line if not over the line.”
The two cases are very different as far as the type of charges that were filed and the fact that Mattox was serving in an official capacity versus Paxton who was working in the private sector and as a member of the Texas Legislature before taking office as attorney general.
Mattox was accused of threatening a Houston law firm if it didn’t drop a case involving his sister. He was later acquitted.
But Smith says it was still hard for Mattox to escape the negative connotations associated with being indicted. Mattox narrowly won a re-election bid before losing a gubernatorial campaign to Governor Ann Richards in 1991.
Rice University Public Policy Professor Mark Jones says many of the calls for Paxton’s resignation have to do with maintaining the reputation of the Attorney General’s office.
“We’re not talking about any individual; we’re not talking about any politician. We’re talking about the state’s chief legal law enforcement officer, the person who everyone else in the state looks to for advice. The problem with Attorney General Paxton is he is under a cloud and that cloud doesn’t seem to be going anywhere,” Jones explained.
According to the indictments released Monday, Paxton was indicted on two 1st degree felony charges for securities fraud. Court documents show Paxton had failed to disclose to clients that he was being compensated with 100,000 shares of stock from the North Texas tech company Servergy every time they bought stock in the company through his referral. That list of clients included fellow Republicans like Corsicana Rep. Bryon Cook, who is listed as one of the complainants in the case.
Servergy is also under state and federal investigation.
Paxton is also indicted on 3rd degree felony for failing to register with the state as a securities agent.
In a statement released by Paxton’s attorney Joe Kendall, he says his client intends to plead Not Guilty and is requesting a jury trial.
