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fought for years to protect his allies from questions about his alleged corruption. Now, they may have to testify under oath about the accusations, .
A state agency recently asked the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to halt grand jury testimony in a case involving 鈥渁lleged criminal wrongdoing by senior Agency personnel.鈥� On June 20, . Agency employees could not avoid testifying if a crime was potentially committed, the decision read.
The court was careful not to name the state agency or any specific individuals.
But several clues in the decision point to the Paxton case. The FBI launched an investigation into Paxton in 2020 for allegedly abusing his power to help a campaign donor named Nate Paul. Among the accusations were .
In its decision, the appeals court noted that two senior agency employees have been ordered to appear in front of a federal grand jury on July 2. The employees are also unnamed.
Jeff Ansley, a former federal prosecutor, says this is a strong indication the feds intend to file charges 鈥� and soon. If so, they will present their case to a federal grand jury, which will decide whether to indict.
鈥淵ou present these types of witnesses, these apex witnesses, at the end of your [investigation] or certainly near the end,鈥� said Ansley.
Paxton has since taking statewide office in 2015. But the corruption allegations involving Nate Paul have been the most serious. They were the basis for last year, , and that is still pending against his agency.
Paul, an Austin-based developer, unrelated to Paxton鈥檚 case. .
In the whistleblower lawsuit, the attorney general鈥檚 office has argued its employees should not be forced to speak to the corruption allegations against Paxton because doing so would reveal private discussions.
But the federal appeals court was not convinced that state employees should be shielded from testifying in public corruption cases.
That鈥檚 because attorney-client privilege does not apply when a public official is accused of a crime, the judges said. The 鈥溾�榮eal of secrecy鈥� between lawyer and client does not extend to communications 鈥榤ade for the purpose of getting advice for the commission of a fraud鈥� or crime,鈥� they wrote.
The appeals court ruled against the agency and sided with a lower federal court that said the grand jury proceedings should continue.
鈥淭he Agency seeks to override the district court鈥檚 May 2024 order allowing grand jury testimony to proceed as outlined in the court鈥檚 prior orders. Because the Agency fails to show a clear and indisputable right to relief, the Agency鈥檚 petition fails,鈥� the decision read. 鈥淭he Agency鈥檚 emergency motion to stay grand jury proceedings currently set for early July 鈥� which rises and falls with its mandamus petition 鈥� necessarily fails for the same reason.鈥�
All three judges who wrote the decision were nominated by Republican presidents. Cory T. Wilson was tapped by Donald Trump. Jerry E. Smith and Leslie Southwick were nominated by Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, respectively.
While the state agency in question is unnamed, the Paxton investigation is referenced throughout.
The decision quotes two sentences from the conclusion of an October 2020 district court ruling. That identical language was also referenced in in the Paxton case that .
It also mentions four types of evidence federal agents from the agency. The fourth type of evidence was any attempt to 鈥渋nterfere in or obstruct the current Federal investigation.鈥� That is identical to language in the sealed grand jury document in the Paxton case.
The agency in question could still try to halt the grand jury testimony.
Paxton鈥檚 personal lawyers, campaign contacts and agency spokespeople did not reply to a request for comment on Thursday. Federal authorities did not immediately comment.
In addition to and , by a disciplinary committee of the State Bar of Texas for their role in challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election.
In March, Paxton cut a deal with prosecutors . He will have to pay restitution and perform community service.
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