Ken Paxton

Legislative activity continues to stall at the Capitol after more 50 Texas House Democrats fled the state to block a Republican-backed redistricting plan.

The Texas attorney general accused the organization, Powered by People, of running a financial influence scheme that convinced Texas Democratic lawmakers to travel out-of-state, leaving the Legislature in limbo.

Two attorneys recently fired from the state's funeral regulation agency say the Attorney General's office sent them cease-and-desist letters shortly after they spoke about their experiences with KERA News.

The attorney general issued an opinion after Texas House Democrats broke quorum in 2021, stating that the move could allow Gov. Greg Abbott to replace lawmakers with appointees of his choosing.

Proposed bills in the Texas House would restore the Attorney General's power to independently prosecute election fraud, mirroring a Senate plan that's already advancing at the Capitol.

Mortgage documents signed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, Angela, contained inaccurate statements declared that each of those three houses was a primary residence, enabling the now-estranged couple to lock in low interest rates and save tens of thousands of dollars in mortgage payments, according to an Associated Press review of public records.

Rakim Sharkey, 31, could have spent the rest of his life in prison for sex trafficking three people — two of whom were children. But in 2023 a prosecutor with Ken Paxton’s office let the man plead guilty to a charge with no prison time and no sex offender status.

Paxton, a Republican, is challenging John Cornyn for his seat in the U.S. Senate while undergoing divorce proceedings with his wife, Angela.

Most of those voters are in Harris County, home to Houston. Noncitizen voting is illegal and documented instances are rare.

State Sen. Angela Paxton, the attorney general's wife, asked last week for the records to be sealed. A new judge brought on after the initial judge recused herself granted the request.