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Donald Trump said this week if he鈥檚 elected president again. Paxton, the Texas attorney general, is a rising GOP star who has recently and cut a deal to .
But Paxton鈥檚 legal troubles may not be over.
Federal agents were still actively investigating Paxton for alleged corruption after last year, according to multiple sources who spoke with The Texas Newsroom in recent weeks. Among Paxton鈥檚 potential crimes listed in included bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy.
News of the FBI investigation in fall 2020. Paxton is alleged to have repeatedly to help Nate Paul, an Austin-based real estate investor and campaign donor. It鈥檚 unclear whether the FBI is still investigating. If the federal probe is still active, it would now be more than three years old.
Two former federal prosecutors said it鈥檚 not uncommon for a complex investigation involving a public official to drag on this long.
Sometimes federal investigators get a lead that takes them months 鈥� even years 鈥� to run down, they said. New witnesses may need to be convinced to flip, they said, and elections can also delay cases because it鈥檚 not preferable to announce charges against someone who鈥檚 actively running for office.
The U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office for the Western District and Paxton鈥檚 attorneys declined to comment for this story.
The feds could have closed the probe without a public announcement, or could still be planning on bringing charges against Paxton. If they move forward, the Department of Justice will want a case that sticks, the experts said.
鈥淒OJ doesn鈥檛 want to shoot and get it wrong,鈥� said Jeff Ansley, an attorney who worked on fraud and corruption cases in the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office in Dallas for almost a decade.
Paxton was to a third four-year term in November 2022. He has also been active in this year鈥檚 legislative races, who backed his impeachment and helping shape the future of the Texas GOP.
A close ally of , Paxton has risen to national prominence as and a and .
Is the FBI still investigating Paxton?
Three people with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Texas Newsroom that federal agents were in the state working the case in late fall of 2023.
Two of the sources, who said they did not want to be named because they feared retaliation from Paxton and his allies, said officials from the U.S. Department of Justice interviewed witnesses in October.
A third source testified in front of a federal grand jury about Paxton in early August and was aware of counsel last speaking with federal authorities in early October, the source said. This source wanted to remain unnamed out of concerns about political and personal retribution for being tied to the case.
The Texas Senate on articles of impeachment in September.
The federal investigation and impeachment proceedings were directly linked. Both were prompted by the that Paxton repeatedly abused his power to help Paul, who himself was also under federal investigation at the time.
Paul was last summer. .
and reported that a federal grand jury met in August to hear from witnesses close to Paxton. After the impeachment trial wrapped, a key witness who had refused to testify in that case was subpoenaed to appear before the federal grand jury in late October.
Justice Department officials in Washington reportedly took over the investigation, , after Paxton鈥檚 lawyers complained federal investigators in Texas had a conflict of interest.
Experts said cases like this must be handled carefully.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not uncommon for a federal investigation to take years,鈥� said John Teakell, who served in the U.S. attorney鈥檚 offices in Dallas and Puerto Rico and is now a criminal defense attorney.
Ansley agreed, saying public corruption cases can take longer than 鈥渁nything in the entire federal lexicon.鈥� Paul鈥檚 federal case, the impeachment trial and moving the case from Texas to main Justice further complicates things, he added.
鈥淭hat makes these things draw on for a painfully long time period,鈥� Ansley said.
Grand jury records released
Paxton鈥檚 own attorneys have acknowledged the FBI is investigating him. But the federal government has not publicly confirmed the probe鈥檚 existence.
However, earlier this month, the Texas Newsroom obtained federal grand jury records from 2021 that shed light on the scope of the investigation. The documents, which include , are labeled 鈥渇iled under seal鈥� and 鈥渃onfidential.鈥�
According to the order from U.S. District Court Judge David Alan Ezra 鈥� dated August 17, 2021 鈥� the FBI and U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office were investigating 鈥渟everal potential federal crimes involving Ken Paxton鈥� and other people, including obstruction of justice, retaliation against witnesses, bribery, honest services wire fraud and conspiracy. The grand jury investigation 鈥渃oncerns Paxton鈥檚 alleged use of his official position and power鈥� to benefit Paul, Ezra wrote in the order, 鈥渁s well as Paxton鈥檚 purported efforts to thwart鈥� the investigation.
It鈥檚 unclear whether the scope of the federal probe has expanded since this order was filed in 2021.
In the order, Ezra also told the Office of the Attorney General to turn over documents to federal investigators. Paxton鈥檚 agency had argued it needed to withhold confidential communications.
鈥淸Paxton鈥檚 agency] will not be permitted to derail this grand jury investigation by wavering on its privilege assertions and compliance decisions in response to the [U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office] investigative measures. Nor can it belatedly submit a mountain of records for the Court鈥檚 review to stall the grand jury鈥檚 investigation,鈥� Ezra wrote.
The Texas Newsroom found the records among thousands of pages of documents submitted as exhibits in Paxton鈥檚 impeachment trial but not released publicly. Over the course of the last few months, the Texas Senate has allowed a reporter to review them in person, and then purchase copies of the documents.
Rusty Hardin, one of the lawyers who prosecuted Paxton鈥檚 impeachment, said the attorney general鈥檚 office sent the documents to his team as part of the discovery process. Because the records were sealed, the prosecution didn鈥檛 present them as public exhibits during trial.
He said he did not know whether federal investigators knew the documents were given to the prosecution, nor did he know how Paxton鈥檚 agency had access to the sealed records.
鈥淲e received it from the AG鈥檚 office with no restrictions,鈥� Hardin said.
In addition to impeachment and the FBI investigation, Paxton also faced state securities fraud charges for nearly nine years. He with prosecutors in March to complete community service and legal ethics training in lieu of going to trial.
Paxton did not admit guilt in the case, which dated back to before Paxton was first elected attorney general in 2014. He will pay his accusers $270,000 in restitution.
Dan Cogdell, one of Paxton鈥檚 lawyers, pointed out that the three federal grand jury documents The Texas Newsroom obtained are labeled confidential and that the case remains under seal. He declined to comment on their contents for this story.
The day the deal was announced, March 26, Cogdell said he did not know if the federal investigation into Paxton was still active.
鈥淭hey don't call me. They don't text me. They don't send me Christmas cards,鈥� Cogdell said at the time.
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