The Texas bar association is investigating whether state Attorney General Ken Paxton鈥檚 failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election based on bogus claims of fraud amounted to professional misconduct.
The State Bar of Texas initially declined to take up a Democratic Party activist鈥檚 complaint that Paxton鈥檚 to block Joe Biden鈥檚 victory . But a tribunal that oversees grievances against lawyers overturned that decision late last month and ordered the bar to look into the accusations against the Republican official.
The investigation is yet another liability for the embattled attorney general, who is facing a years-old criminal case, a separate, newer FBI investigation, and a Republican primary opponent who is seeking to make electoral hay of the various controversies. It also makes Paxton one of the highest profile lawyers to face professional blowback over their roles in Donald Trump鈥檚 effort to delegitimize his defeat.
A spokesman for the attorney general鈥檚 office did not respond to requests for comment. Paxton鈥檚 defense lawyer, Philip Hilder, declined to comment.
Kevin Moran, the 71-year-old president of the Galveston Island Democrats, shared his complaint with The Associated Press along with letters from the State Bar of Texas and the Board of Disciplinary Appeals that confirm the investigation. He said Paxton鈥檚 efforts to dismiss other states鈥� election results was a wasteful embarrassment for which the attorney general should lose his law license.
鈥淗e wanted to disenfranchise the voters in four other states,鈥� said Moran. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just crazy.鈥�
Texas鈥� top appeals lawyer, who would usually argue the state鈥檚 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, notably did not join Paxton in bringing the election suit. .
Paxton has less than a month to reply to Moran鈥檚 claim that the lawsuit to overturn the results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin was misleading and brought in bad faith, according to a June 3 letter from the bar. All four of the battleground states voted for Biden in November.
From there, bar staff will take up the case in a proceeding that resembles the grand jury stage of a criminal investigation. Bar investigators are empowered to question witnesses, hold hearings and issue subpoenas to determine whether a lawyer likely committed misconduct. That finding then launches a disciplinary process that could ultimately result in disbarment, suspension or a lesser punishments. A lawyer also could be found to have done nothing wrong.
The bar dismisses thousands of grievances each year and the Board of Disciplinary Appeals, 12 independent lawyers appointed by the Texas Supreme Court, overwhelmingly uphold those decisions. Reversals like that of Moran鈥檚 complaint happened less than 7% of the time last year, according to the bar鈥檚 annual report.
Claire Reynolds, a spokeswoman and lawyer for the bar, said state law prohibits the agency from commenting on complaints unless they result is public sanctions or a court action.
The bar鈥檚 investigation is confidential and likely to take months. But it draws renewed attention to Paxton鈥檚 divisive defense of Trump as he and vie for the former president鈥檚 endorsement in the Republican primary to run for attorney general in 2022.
On the Democratic side, Joe Jaworski, the former mayor of Galveston, has said he鈥檒l run. Moran said Jaworski is a friend but that he played no role in the complaint against Paxton.
Paxton鈥檚 election challenge was filled with basic scrutiny. A succession of other judges and state elections officials have refuted claims of widespread voter fraud, and Trump鈥檚 own of fraud that could have changed the election鈥檚 outcome.
Nonetheless, Paxton鈥檚 lawsuit won him political and financial support from Trump loyalists at a time when fresh allegations of criminal wrongdoing led from the attorney general.
Last fall, eight of in which they accused him of abusing his office in the service of a wealthy donor. The their claims.
Paxton has denied wrongdoing and separately pleaded not guilty in a state securities fraud case that鈥檚 languished since 2015. He has also used his office in ways that have and other .
The new criminal allegations prompted an from Paxton鈥檚 office. But Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins was still serving as Texas鈥� top appellate lawyer at the time of the election lawsuit.
Although the solicitor general usually handles cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, it was a private Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who brought the election challenge with Paxton. Hawkins A spokesman for his firm said 鈥渨e can鈥檛 help you鈥� with questions about why he didn鈥檛 handle the suit.