Politics & Policy
March 28, 2024
The Law Came for Ken Paxton. Then It Turned and Ran Away.
After nine years of pursuing criminal fraud charges against the Texas attorney general, prosecutors now say that their case was weak.
Ken Paxton
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1-50 of 135 Articles
Politics & Policy
March 8, 2024
The Far Right in Texas Crashed Through Its Last Guardrail
The GOP primary has yanked the lower chamber, once again, to the right—a huge victory for Greg Abbott and lieutenant governor Dan Patrick.
Politics & Policy
March 5, 2024
Texas Primary Elections Results and Analysis
Donald Trump and Joe Biden cruised to victory, the Democrats chose Colin Allred to challenge Ted Cruz, and Dade Phelan is heading to a runoff.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2024
Dade Phelan Was Uninvited From His Own Party. He’s Trying to Crash His Way Back In.
The Speaker governs as an old-school conservative—a crime for which right-wing Republicans are determined to banish him.
Ken Paxton Watch
February 29, 2024
Paxton Watch: Will Ken Run Against John Cornyn in 2026?
The attorney general and the senator have beef. For now, it’s confined to social media.
Border & Immigration
February 23, 2024
What Does Religious Freedom Mean in Ken Paxton’s Texas?
Texas’s attorney general is suing to revoke the license of a Catholic migrant aid center in El Paso. Leaders of such aid groups say they’re simply practicing their faith.
Ken Paxton Watch
February 21, 2024
Paxton Watch: Ken Attacks a Catholic Migrant-Aid Group
The beleaguered attorney general has announced a lawsuit targeting El Paso’s Annunciation House, claiming—without evidence—that it and other NGOs “facilitate astonishing horrors.”
Politics & Policy
February 20, 2024
How the Texas House Could Become More Radical
A constellation of right-wing special interests and vengeful state officials is striving to shape the Texas House in its image, in part by targeting independent-minded Republican lawmakers.
Politics & Policy
February 13, 2024
“The Senate Got Played”: Drew Springer Explains His Call to Reopen Ken Paxton’s Impeachment
The North Texas state senator voted to acquit the attorney general in September but has called for new proceedings to evaluate Paxton’s fitness for office.
Politics & Policy
February 8, 2024
This Election Season, Texas Isn’t Sending Its Best Slate of Candidates
Not everyone can vote, but seemingly anyone can run. Your guide to some of the more intriguing scoundrels, weirdos, and ne’er-do-wells on the ballot in 2024.
Ken Paxton Watch
February 7, 2024
Ken Paxton Argues That Ken Paxton Has Violated Ken Paxton’s Right to a Speedy Trial
The attorney general, who has spent eight years delaying his securities fraud trial, is arguing that those delays make his prosecution unconstitutional.
Politics & Policy
February 2, 2024
Some Republicans Think Democrats Are Stealing Elections . . . by Voting
Party leaders want to close primaries to preclude Democrats from crossing over to vote for the more-centrist Republican candidates. But the data shows that few do so.
Politics & Policy
January 31, 2024
Greg Abbott’s Voucher Push and Ken Paxton’s Revenge Tour Fall Flat in the First Lege Election
House leadership–backed Jill Dutton defeated anti-impeachment voucher proponent Brent Money in a special Texas House election.
Politics & Policy
January 30, 2024
What If They Held an Election and Every Special Interest Came?
Competing factions of the GOP have turned a small-stakes Texas House runoff into an all-out proxy war.
Ken Paxton Watch
January 5, 2024
Paxton Watch: After a “Swatting” Incident at His House, the AG Called Out His Political Opponents—but Does It Add Up?
The beleaguered attorney general blamed House Speaker Dade Phelan for “doxxing” him, but he failed to mention that the address contained in the impeachment materials Phelan released was for Paxton’s residence in another city.
Politics & Policy
January 2, 2024
The Texas GOP Civil War Is Messier Than Anyone Expected
Politicians have labeled the battle over Ken Paxton’s impeachment as one between centrists and the far right. It’s not, according to our analysis of legislators’ voting records.
Politics & Policy
December 13, 2023
Ken Paxton Has Been Staying Busy Since His Acquittal
Having survived one big legal fight, the attorney general is eagerly picking new ones with Media Matters for America, Pfizer, the U.S. State Department, and a Texan with a nonviable pregnancy.
Politics & Policy
December 7, 2023
The Greatest Sideshow on Earth: Behind the Scenes of Ken Paxton’s Acquittal
The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton delivered a steady stream of tantalizing entertainment. But the most consequential moments played out when few were watching.
Politics & Policy
November 8, 2023
Ken Paxton Scored His First Post-Impeachment Victory at the Ballot Box
The first stop of Ken Paxton’s revenge tour was in a North Texas House district, where his preferred candidate, Brent Money, reached a runoff.
Politics & Policy
September 22, 2023
Ken Paxton Is Finally Free to Talk. Cue the Falsehoods on Tucker Carlson’s Show.
The attorney general is going on a right-wing media tour to complain—with no evidence—about a bipartisan conspiracy against him.
Politics & Policy
September 22, 2023
Winners and Losers in the Ken Paxton Impeachment Saga
The attorney general’s acquittal affects an upcoming legislative session on school vouchers—and the civil war within the Texas GOP.
Politics & Policy
September 20, 2023
Are There Coincidences in Austin? A Texas Monthly Investigation
A defense attorney in Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial tried to twist an old conspiracy theorist line into a Texas truism. How does it hold up?
Politics & Policy
September 18, 2023
The Biblical Womanhood of Angela Paxton
Throughout the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, his wife, a state senator, shared her internal struggle one Bible verse at a time.
Politics & Policy
September 16, 2023
The Texas Senate Votes to Acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton
House managers couldn’t get more than 14 votes, below the needed 21 votes to convict, on any of the sixteen impeachment counts.
Politics & Policy
September 15, 2023
“The Most Important Choice You Have Ever Faced”: The Texas Senate Decides the Fate of Ken Paxton
After eight days of arguments and testimony, senators deliberate on whether to convict the embattled Texas attorney general.
Politics & Policy
September 14, 2023
Highlights From Day Eight of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
And on the eighth day, the defense rested.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2023
Here’s What You Missed on Day Seven of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
The mistress’s testimony that wasn’t, Rusty Hardin’s snafu, a dismissed motion to drop all the charges, and more.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2023
Ted Cruz, John Cornyn, and Other Texans in D.C. Weigh In on Ken Paxton’s Impeachment Trial
Shouldn’t Paxton be present for the proceedings? Best guesses on the outcome? We posed these questions and more.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2023
Why Is a Midland Billionaire Spending So Heavily to Support Ken Paxton?
Countless right wingers could do the attorney general's job more effectively, but none would so reliably serve the interests of one faction in the Texas GOP's civil war.
Politics & Policy
September 12, 2023
Here’s What You Missed on Day Six of the Paxton Impeachment Trial
The young personal-injury lawyer testified about an investigation allegedly launched for the benefit of Nate Paul.
Politics & Policy
September 11, 2023
Here’s What You Missed on Day Five of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
The attorney general’s affair finally took center stage. Plus, testimony on a meeting at Galaxy Cafe, a red car, and a Bible verse.
Politics & Policy
September 8, 2023
My Brief Career as a Paid Pro-Paxton Propagandist
As the attorney general’s impeachment trial takes place, a shadowy group has mobilized an army of political influencers to support his acquittal. Our ethics laws aren’t keeping up.
Politics & Policy
September 7, 2023
Here’s What Happened on Day Three of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
Through anger, calm, and even some tears, former aides testified about the attorney general's alleged corruption.
Politics & Policy
September 6, 2023
Waiting in Line for Ken Paxton
Before sunrise, journalists and eager onlookers gathered at the gates of the Capitol grounds, awaiting the start of the attorney general's historic impeachment trial.
Politics & Policy
September 6, 2023
What We Learned on Day Two of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
We heard testimony on Paxton's affair and watched the defense make one of the prosecution's key witnesses squirm.
Politics & Policy
September 5, 2023
Highlights From the First Day of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
The Texas Senate did not dismiss any charges, Paxton will not have to testify, and more we learned from day one.
Politics & Policy
August 31, 2023
Your Cheat Sheet for Ken Paxton’s Impeachment Trial
Everything you need to know about the alleged adultery, bribery, and abuse of office. Plus: Big-time lawyers! Billionaire donors! And burner phones!
Politics & Policy
August 30, 2023
Big News: According to a New Documentary, the Texas House Is Secretly Run by Democrats!
The film by right-wing activist Michael Quinn Sullivan is a warning to Republicans who might vote for Ken Paxton's impeachment.
Politics & Policy
August 25, 2023
Would Nate Paul and Ken Paxton Still Be Friends Under Other Circumstances? A Texas Monthly Investigation
Unpacking the bromance between the 36-year-old nightclub owner and the 60-year-old evangelical Christian and career politician.
Politics & Policy
August 18, 2023
Red Flags, Fast Cars, and Church’s Chicken: Highlights From the 4,000 Pages of Ken Paxton Impeachment Evidence
From his alleged dealings with Nate Paul to the attorney general’s seeming penchant for fast food, here’s what we learned from documents released late Thursday night.
Politics & Policy
August 8, 2023
Is There Any Chance Ken Paxton Will Be Convicted?
Threats from the AG’s supporters loom over the Republican state senators who will serve as the jurors in the impeachment trial.
Politics & Policy
August 3, 2023
Ken Paxton Managed to Delay His Trial on Securities Fraud Charges for Eight Years. Now It’s Coming Home to Roost.
The state Senate’s vote on Paxton’s impeachment will proceed independently from his criminal case. But the outcomes are interlinked.
Politics & Policy
June 20, 2023
In the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial, GOP Megadonors Are Free to Tamper With the Jury
As celebrity lawyers feud in the press, Republican groups have launched an influence campaign in the Texas Senate.
Best and Worst Legislators
June 13, 2023
2023: The Best and Worst Legislators
Our scorecard of the Eighty-eighth Texas Legislature’s noisy scoundrels and quiet heroes.
News & Politics
June 2, 2023
Paxton’s Impeachment Is Not a Referendum on Trump
Texas Republicans have been in the midst of a cold war with one another for much of the 2023 session. The impeachment vote simply caused it to heat up.
Politics & Policy
May 27, 2023
The Texas House Has Voted to Impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton
The state’s top attorney will be suspended from duties, pending a trial in the Texas Senate.
Politics & Policy
May 26, 2023
The Texas Legislature Finally Comes for Ken Paxton
The Texas House has voted to impeach the attorney general. After nearly eight years under indictment—during which he won two elections—why now?
Politics & Policy
May 24, 2023
Is Ken Paxton Finally in Real Trouble?
The attorney general, under indictment since 2015, now faces potential impeachment from the Texas House.
Politics & Policy
May 24, 2023
Hours Before an Investigating Committee Hearing Into AG Ken Paxton’s Office, Paxton Calls on Speaker Dade Phelan to Resign
Phelan’s office called Paxton’s late-Tuesday statement a ploy and “a last-ditch effort to save face.”
Politics & Policy
April 25, 2023
For Texas’s Antiabortion Movement, the Chilling Effect Is Working
While extremely limited, avenues for abortion access exist in Texas. That’s where fear tactics from antiabortion activists come into play.