By Steve Neavling
The U.S. Justice Department quietly decided in the final weeks of the Biden administration not to charge Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, effectively ending a long-running federal corruption investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter, the Associated Press reports.
The decision, which has not been previously reported, was made by a senior career official in the department’s public integrity section and was not influenced by political appointees. It came nearly two years after the Justice Department took over the case from prosecutors in Texas, who believed there was enough evidence to indict Paxton.
The probe stemmed from 2020 allegations by eight of Paxton’s former top aides, who accused him of bribery and abusing his office to help real estate investor and campaign donor Nate Paul. Paxton has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the investigation as a “bogus witch hunt” in a post on X.
Paul, who employed a woman with whom Paxton admitted to having an affair, pleaded guilty in January to making false statements to banks in connection with $170 million in loans.
Paxton was impeached last year over the same allegations but was acquitted by the Republican-led Texas Senate. He later settled felony securities fraud charges and paid nearly $300,000 in restitution.
Lawyers for the whistleblowers criticized the Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute, calling it “political cowardice.” Paxton, a close ally of Donald Trump, is considering a 2026 U.S. Senate run that could pit him against Sen. John Cornyn.
