‘THE CULTURE IS BROKEN’

Staff Walkouts, Botched Cases: Texas AG Ken Paxton’s Office Is Reportedly a Mess

In one instance, Paxton’s staff had to drop a slew of human trafficking cases because, in part, they had lost track of a victim.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has remained incredibly popular among Republicans not just in Texas but across the nation since his appointment in 2015. But a damning Associated Press investigation has uncovered a litany of serious missteps—from mass resignations to botched cases—that may threaten his chances of winning a third term in November. Paxton’s office is in disarray, the AP reports, with lawyers quitting over what they say is overly politicized work. One prosecutor who quit in January said he was pressured to withhold evidence in a murder case. Paxton is also accused of utilizing his office to aid a woman he had an affair with, and hiring a donor’s son who would later display child pornography at a work meeting. In court papers filed Sept. 13, staff revealed that they were dismissing a slew of human trafficking cases because, in part, they had lost track of one victim. “For Pete’s sake, you’re the AG’s office. You can’t find the victim?” one Republican district attorney, Dusty Boyd, said. “The culture is broken.”