Texas bar association investigating state’s attorney general: report

The Texas bar association is investigating whether Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) actions in unsuccessfully attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election amounted to professional misconduct, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

Kevin Moran, president of the Galveston Island Democrats, provided the AP with his complaint to the State Bar of Texas as well as letters from the bar association and the Board of Disciplinary Appeals that confirmed an investigation had been launched.

The bar association had originally declined to consider Moran’s complaint, which said Paxton’s petition to block President Biden’s victory in the Supreme Court was frivolous and unethical, the AP notes. However, a tribunal overturned this decision in May and ordered the association to look into the allegations against Paxton. 

“He wanted to disenfranchise the voters in four other states,” Moran told the AP, which reported that the State Bar of Texas rejects thousands of claims every year and it is unusual for the Board of Disciplinary Appeals to overturn a decision.

Paxton now reportedly has less than a month to reply to Moran’s complaint. 

A representative for the bar told the AP that the organization is prohibited from commenting on complaints.

The Hill has reached out to Paxton’s office for comment.

In December, the Supreme Court rejected the effort to overturn the election led by Paxton, making it clear that Texas did not have the legal right to litigate over how other states conduct elections.

The Texas lawsuit argued that electors in multiple states where Biden won should not be allowed to cast their votes because their states unconstitutionally changed voting procedures that allowed for more mail-in ballots.

“Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections,” the Supreme Court ruling read. “All other pending motions are dismissed as moot.”

The investigation from the bar association is the latest in what has become a growing number of challenges for Paxton, the AP notes. He is currently facing a criminal case, a separate investigation from the FBI and George P. Bush recently announced that he would be running to replace him as Texas attorney general.

Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and the nephew to former President George W. Bush, jumped on Paxton’s legal troubles when announcing his bid last week.

“Enough is enough, Ken,” he said at an event kick-starting his campaign. “You’ve brought way too much scandal and too little integrity to this office.”

Former President Trump has hinted that he will be making an endorsement in the Texas race soon, saying he likes Paxton and George P. Bush “both very much.”