Ken Paxton has been embroiled in controversy for months, but the Texas Attorney General doesn’t seem to be having trouble paying his legal bills. Paxton is facing federal and state securities fraud charges and is under multiple indictments. But, as The Texas Tribune reports, Paxton has received six figures worth of donations from “family friends” to help pay his massive legal debts. The Republican AG has accepted more than $329,000 from more than two dozen people labeled “family friends,” many of whom are some of his biggest campaign contributors. Paxton has described the money as “gifts.”
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil lawsuit against Paxton for misleading investors in a tech company without telling them he was receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions. He also faces three felony criminal counts in a Collin County court. Paxton has pleaded not guilty on all criminal charges.