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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,777

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, That Guy said:

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Ken-Paxton-s-defenses-questioned-in-AG-office-15629810.php
 

Quote

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made two key arguments when defending his decision to hire an outside “prosecutor” to investigate allegations made by his campaign donor Nate Paul.

First, he said he needed an independent arbiter to investigate Paul’s complaints. Second, he emphasized that he was merely acting on a referral from the local prosecutor, Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore.

Quote

Paxton released a contract with this outside investigator showing he is neither independent nor a prosecutor. And Moore undermined Paxton’s argument that the case was referred to him by noting that it was Paxton himself who took the complaint to her office, not the other way around.

Paxton has a personal relationship with Paul, an Austin real estate investor who has also given him $25,000 in political contributions.

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,777

Posted
Posted (edited)

So Travis County DA officials are saying Paxton came to them.

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/new-documents-reveal-targets-of-ags-investigation-as-paxton-fights-off-allegations-of-bribery-abuse-of-office/

Quote

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton initiated a meeting to investigate complaints made by an Austin real estate mogul, according to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.

It is that handling of a complaint that has AG Paxton’s top aides accusing him of bribery and abuse of office.

The District Attorney’s Office says Paxton personally approached DA representatives and asked them to hear the complaints made by Nate Paul and his attorney.

And lest we forget, Paxton is fighting with his own top people, claiming they impeded him, and he had to take action, because he knew Nate Paul!

Quote

“Because employees from my office impeded the investigation, and because I knew Nate Paul, I ultimately decided to hire an outside independent prosecutor to make his own independent determination,” Paxton wrote in a statement issued earlier this week.

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According to reports in the Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman, Paxton’s aides felt compelled to report his actions after they discovered Cammack had issued subpoenas targeting “adversaries” of Paul.

 

Edited by atomheartbevo
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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105,273

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, That Guy said:

https://apnews.com/article/houston-ken-paxton-archive-texas-crime-bf05e918b1e3b8805609c38d821fd222
 

Article links the special prosecutor to Paul’s attorney. 

Well, not to defend the shenanigans here, but the "connection" is that they are FB friends and part of the same civic organization.  Dude.....that's true of something like 100 people I know, or more.  But that's not any real connection -- we are in the same profession, in the same groups that many members of the profession belong to in this area.  Some of those people may be up to something shady, I have no idea -- that's a pretty weak "linked" point.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31,529

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, not to defend the shenanigans here, but the "connection" is that they are FB friends and part of the same civic organization.  Dude.....that's true of something like 100 people I know, or more.  But that's not any real connection -- we are in the same profession, in the same groups that many members of the profession belong to in this area.  Some of those people may be up to something shady, I have no idea -- that's a pretty weak "linked" point.

Solid piece by AP, which has been doing ultra-factual work in these trying times for journos, but "connection" is pretty loaded language for that commonality.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105,273

Posted
Posted
Just now, TwiceHorn said:

Solid piece by AP, which has been doing ultra-factual work in these trying times for journos, but "connection" is pretty loaded language for that commonality.

Just remember......pretty much every poster on this site has a "connection" to a pedophile rock thrower.  So....yeah.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31,529

Posted
Posted (edited)

In that piece, there's a link to the contract and to some correspondence.  Cammack's email footer says "Downtown Houston Rotary Club" and "Chair Elect, Houston Bar Association."  Very sinister.

Now that we know he wasn't an actual prosecutor, I am curious as hell how he issued grand jury subpoenas.  Art. 24.15 of the Code of Crim. P. indicates that only a "states' attorney" may make a sworn application for a GJ subpoena.  But it is issued only over the clerk's signature. 

I'm envisioning these witnesses showing up at the Grand Jury and everyone there going "who the fuck are you and why are you here"?

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,777

Posted
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1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Just remember......pretty much every poster on this site has a "connection" to a pedophile rock thrower.  So....yeah.

And "connected" to somebody who has restraining orders from Robert Plant, Connie Britton, and Sandra Bullock, all thanks to fucking misunderstandings about "personal space" or whatever the fuck the court wants to call it.

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,777

Posted
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It’s getting better.  Another letter was released by his aides yesterday.  Paxton took his eye off of the approval process, and reopened a closed investigation.  His aides are saying the special prosecutor was not looking at the allegations made about the federal agents,  but instead investigating things related to Nate Paul’s private business interests.   Things are looking crooked.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20201007/paxton-revived-closed-investigation-to-help-austin-developer-aides-say

Quote

A civil war inside Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office intensified Thursday when top lieutenants for the second time — and in greater detail — accused Paxton of giving improper preferential treatment to an Austin developer who was under federal investigation.

Quote

In a letter sent to Paxton on Wednesday and made public Thursday, five agency executives rebuked Paxton for hiring an outside lawyer to investigate businessman Nate Paul’s allegations of misconduct by federal authorities.

Agency lawyers had previously investigated the claims and found them to be baseless, the letter said.

Quote

“In any other instance, such an investigation would have promptly ended,” the letter stated. “Here, you circumvented our office’s long established outside counsel approval process, over the objections of the executive staff, to engage Mr. Cammack.”

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Quote

The letter states that Cammack sought and obtained grand jury subpoenas that had nothing to do with the allegations Paul made against the federal investigators, but instead seemed to be “related to private business concerns of Nate Paul.”

Quote

The letter was signed by Paxton deputies Ryan Bangert, Blake Brickman, Lacey Mase, Darren McCarty and Ryan Vassar — all of whom also signed last week’s letter that revealed inner agency concerns about Paxton’s actions.

Wednesday’s letter also went to First Assistant Brent Webster, Paxton’s new second in command to replace Jeff Mateer, who resigned last week after accusing Paxton of wrongdoing in his dealings with Paul.

Two agency leaders who looked into Paul’s complaints have been placed on investigative leave: Deputy Attorney General Mark Penley, who sent Cammack two cease-and-desist letters stating that he lacked the authority under state law to investigate the matter, and director of law enforcement David Maxwell.

The letter stated: “Despite their absence and inability to act, we feel compelled to send this communication to ensure there is no confusion: this office’s continued use of the criminal process, in a matter already determined to be without merit, to benefit the personal interests of Nate Paul, is unconscionable.”

 

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

I don't think Texas will be that close on the POTUS election.  I mean it will be close, 2-3%, but not legally alarming.  But just in case it was to be within a tinier margin and raise some election validity concerns...the best thing you can have is a state AG's office in utter fucking chaos.  That'll help assuage voter concerns, right?  Paul and Paxton have been in bed together for at least two years that I know of...wonder why this is all coming out now?  Ah yes, Justice.  And Files.  

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13,521

Posted
Posted

Why did the one asst AG resign after or as he was signing the letter calling for Paxton's resignation. I think the right move is to publicly call for your boss' resignation, show up to work like normal, and then wait for one hint of retaliation. HR will probably have to send you home and re-assign to a do-nothing job for full pay. Which both allow you to fight for retaliation later on.

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kevwun

kevwun 15,855

Posted
Posted

I believe they are all appointed and being that this is going end up with Paxton being removed from office, they probably weren't going to keep their jobs under the next AG.  Also does a better job of focusing public attention on the matter when they all resigned at once.  It also looks really bad to future employers if you keep working for the AG when you know he is engaging in illegal activities or if you have political aspirations down the road.

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13,521

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, kevwun said:

I believe they are all appointed and being that this is going end up with Paxton being removed from office, they probably weren't going to keep their jobs under the next AG.  Also does a better job of focusing public attention on the matter when they all resigned at once.  It also looks really bad to future employers if you keep working for the AG when you know he is engaging in illegal activities or if you have political aspirations down the road.

Makes sense.

To me this story seems very simple. The real estate guy was pissed about the feds & others, so he hit up Paxton for payback since he's given so much money (even what we know) to Paxton. Paxton probably knows he couldn't do much, so this was an opportunity to funnel this work (state funds) to an inexperienced, friendly lawyer to appease the real estate guy. And Paxton was advising the inexperienced lawyer exactly what to do and who to harass. An AG lawyer would most likely push back on being the attack dog for a private citizen.

Since Paxton is the biggest fish in this story, the real estate guy should flip on Paxton. Might have to wait (hope) for a Biden victory and next year approach the feds about a deal. Feds love themselves some corrupt elected, state officials.

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,777

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Lobo said:

Paul and Paxton have been in bed together for at least two years that I know of...wonder why this is all coming out now? 

Because shit started happening over the past 10 days or so - Cammack started getting his subpoenas on September 28th, Paxton's aides then found out about it, issued cease-and-desist orders in the days after, wrote a letter to Cammack, told the feds, and wrote a letter to Paxton.  

Quote

Cammack appeared before a Travis County grand jury on Sept. 28 as a special prosecutor representing Paxton’s office and obtained subpoenas.....

After learning Cammack had participated in the court proceedings, a deputy of Paxton’s sent Cammack a cease-and-desist letter stating that he had no authority under state law to serve as a special prosecutor and that by doing so he might have committed a crime.....

“You have not been retained, authorized, or deputized by this office as such and your actions are entirely inappropriate and may be illegal,” Deputy Attorney General Mark Penley wrote to Cammack Wednesday. The letter directed Cammack to stop taking any further actions.

In the letter, Penley said he had become aware that Cammack had served a subpoena on at least one private business earlier that day.

Quote

Ah yes, Justice.  And Files.  

Yeah, that's the crazy thing - everything Paxton kicked off by appointing Cammack as this "special prosecutor", left a paper trail a mile wide, across various jurisdictions and courts.

It's like they forgot it was 2020 and thought it was 1920.

 

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0xdeadbeef

0xdeadbeef 1,652

Posted
Posted

I'm missing a key part of this story.   

  • The AG felt he needed an independent arbiter to investigate something.
  • The AG hired an outsider to investigate that thing.
  • The Deputy AG tells the investigator who the AG hired that  “You have not been retained, authorized, or deputized by this office as such and your actions are entirely inappropriate and may be illegal,”.

Something doesn't add up.

Did the AG overstep his authority in hiring an outsider?   

Not knowing the law, it seems like it would be something well within what an AG should be able to do. 

Yes, I get that there are very possibly other shenanigans going on here about who he hired, and what they were doing, but those seem like secondary issues after understanding if Paxton was authorized to hire Cammack into that role.

 

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atomheartbevo

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Posted
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1 hour ago, swraith said:

Jurisdiction in what way? What powers does the committee hold over the AG? Serious question...not sarcastic.

That committee has, among its functions, jurisdiction over "the Office of the Attorney General, including its organization, powers, functions, and responsibilities."

 They aren't in session right now, but come next year, it sounds like they could put Paxton through the ringer - they could request any documents/records/etc. they wanted from Paxton, they could restrict his functions, take away responsibilities and powers from him, etc. and in short, they could make his life a living hell.

It's important, because Paxton is an elected state official.  Sounds like that committee would start Paxton's impeachment, should he not step down.

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.15.htm

 

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Hank Scorpio

Hank Scorpio 17,729

Posted
Posted

Ken Paxton fucked up by protecting a fellow grifter. The first rule of grifting is to not grift a grifter. That’s what marks are for. These fucking amateurs make me miss Rick Perry. No need for low level grifts, just make sure your legitimately rich friends make as much money as possible and you’re set. 

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Cousin Strawberry

Cousin Strawberry 1,261

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Ken Paxton fucked up by protecting a fellow grifter. The first rule of grifting is to not grift a grifter. That’s what marks are for. These fucking amateurs make me miss Rick Perry. No need for low level grifts, just make sure your legitimately rich friends make as much money as possible and you’re set. 

Totally.  Every legit person I know in commercial real estate has known that Nate Paul was a swarthy, grifting piece of shit since he was a blip on the radar. He is a complete fraud.  I am surprised that "stroke-face" and his squirrel-chasing eye can be bought for $25K. I thought Paxton's face issue was only cosmetic. Is it possible that Paxton is as mentally deficient as his face suggests?

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105,273

Posted
Posted
[mention=593]Brisketexan[/mention] Can you answer 0xdeadbeef's question a few posts up?

Not entirely, and not in detail; I’m not overly familiar with that aspect of the AG’s operations. However, the powers are defined by statute, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the appointment itself, and more likely, the activities he was directed to do, are both outside his authority and were done to interfere with an existing criminal investigation. And the fact that there may be a quid pro quo may be the real issue with all of it. Even a lawful action done for an unlawful purpose is a big problem.
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Hefeweizen

Hefeweizen 5,328

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Cousin Strawberry said:

Totally.  Every legit person I know in commercial real estate has known that Nate Paul was a swarthy, grifting piece of shit since he was a blip on the radar. He is a complete fraud.  I am surprised that "stroke-face" and his squirrel-chasing eye can be bought for $25K. I thought Paxton's face issue was only cosmetic. Is it possible that Paxton is as mentally deficient as his face suggests?

We interviewed with his team on 3m and I got a terrible impression.  Was very happy we passed when I saw how many consultants got stiffed.

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atomheartbevo 89,777

Posted
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4 minutes ago, 4th and 5 said:

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/09/texas-ken-paxton/

Quote

Cammack’s ties to Wynne, a Houston attorney for Paul, raise further questions about his selection.

They are both involved with the Houston Bar Association’s criminal law and procedure section, where Wynne is chair and Cammack is chair-elect.

Quote

The two are also friends on Facebook, where Wynne posted a photo in late February of the two in a group wearing matching vests and cowboy hats. It’s captioned, in part, “The Downtown Rotary Club riders before the parade this morning.”

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105,273

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, That Guy said:

https://lawsintexas.com/nate-pauls-attorney-demands-answers-from-the-texas-attorney-general-in-a-sensational-letter/?amp&__twitter_impression=true

There's a lot of holy shit in there, but it all boils down to.....a circular firing squad, where everyone is determined to take out everyone else.

What an unholy mess.

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

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Posted

You know you're fucked when being smuggled into Mexico to take your chances with your 'sponsors' is starting to look like a decent option because at least it'll be quick.

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89,777

Posted
Posted

So let's try and sum this up.

  • The Houston attorney with 5 years experience, that was appointed by Paxton as a Special Prosecutor, was subpoenaing Nate Paul's competition.
  • That Houston attorney is friends with one of Nate Paul's lawyers.
  • Paxton's staff is against that Houston attorney.
  • Paxton's staff is against Nate Paul, and Nate Paul is against them.
  • Paxton's staff turned against Paxton, and Paxton has turned on them.
  • Nate Paul is turning against Paxton
  • Greg Abbott, John Cornyn, Chip Roy, the Texas House Judicial Whatever Committee Head, plus many others, have all turned on Paxton.
  • There are rumors floating around about whether Paxton had an affair with a (TX) Senate staffer (and Paxton's wife is a state senator).

What's left out?

2020 has been a shit year, but at least it's giving us these fireworks towards the end.

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Cousin Strawberry

Cousin Strawberry 1,261

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Posted

I sure wish that Paul would just outline the misdeeds he alleges the FBI committed when searching his properties.  If they lacked probable cause and believe evidence is inadmissible, that is something you address pretrial.  If they believe that the FBI seized items that exceeded the scope of the warrant, that is also an issue for the trial court.   What exactly are the egregious violations?  What could possibly require the involvement of the OAG?

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Steel Shank

Steel Shank 9,430

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

So let's try and sum this up.

  • The Houston attorney with 5 years experience, that was appointed by Paxton as a Special Prosecutor, was subpoenaing Nate Paul's competition.
  • That Houston attorney is friends with one of Nate Paul's lawyers.
  • Paxton's staff is against that Houston attorney.
  • Paxton's staff is against Nate Paul, and Nate Paul is against them.
  • Paxton's staff turned against Paxton, and Paxton has turned on them.
  • Nate Paul is turning against Paxton
  • Greg Abbott, John Cornyn, Chip Roy, the Texas House Judicial Whatever Committee Head, plus many others, have all turned on Paxton.
  • There are rumors floating around about whether Paxton had an affair with a (TX) Senate staffer (and Paxton's wife is a state senator).

What's left out?

2020 has been a shit year, but at least it's giving us these fireworks towards the end.

I knew there had to be some illicit pipe laying in here somewhere.

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Mikey4

Mikey4 2,476

Posted
Posted
I sure wish that Paul would just outline the misdeeds he alleges the FBI committed when searching his properties.  If they lacked probable cause and believe evidence is inadmissible, that is something you address pretrial.  If they believe that the FBI seized items that exceeded the scope of the warrant, that is also an issue for the trial court.   What exactly are the egregious violations?  What could possibly require the involvement of the OAG?

The letter from Paul's attorney includes this snippet.

 

The circumstances of the Search are among the most egregious examples of inappropriate behavior by government officials that I have witnessed in my professional expenence.As you are aware, just two of the many examples of the evidence supporting the Complaint filed by my Client include:-Evidence of tampering with government records by certain individuals involved in the searches that took place in August-Sworn testimony of an unaffiliated witness present during the Search that contradict government records

 

So it sounds like tampering and/or falsifying "government" records? I don't see why the AOG would care unless the records were state records, but I don't know why the FBI would be creating or accessing state records.

 

 

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

 "The circumstances of the search are among the most egregious examples of inappropriate behavior by government officials that I have witnessed in my professional experience."  

My money is now on Nate Paul.  He's obviously hired...Jackie Chiles, Attorney-at-Law (Jackie Chiles is not board certified in personal injury law)  

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