Texas GOP lawmaker says Attorney General Ken Paxton is a flight risk
Rep. Jared Patterson says he was disgusted and astounded when Paxton announced he would no longer contest the facts of the whistleblower case against him.
Author: Michael McCardel
Published: 1:22 PM CST February 5, 2024
Updated: 2:15 PM CST February 5, 2024
DALLAS — They are topics some Texas Republicans will only discuss in private.
But in our latest episode of Y’all-itics, state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, decided to say the quiet part out loud.
The Republican from Frisco, who did vote to impeach Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, flat-out says Paxton, who faces trial on securities fraud charges and a federal corruption investigation, is a flight risk.
“The noose is getting tighter. It’s a matter of time. And look, I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of this year that, you know, Ken Paxton’s on an island somewhere cashing out his campaign account and, you know, trying to skirt law enforcement,” Rep. Patterson told us on Y’all-itics.
Rep. Patterson says he was disgusted and astounded when Paxton announced he would no longer contest the facts of the whistleblower case against him.
Those whistleblowers, Paxton’s former aides, filed a lawsuit in 2020 alleging that Paxton illegally fired them after they reported corruption concerns to the FBI.
And those claims were the basis of the articles of impeachment by the Texas House.
The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton last September.
But since Paxton said he would no longer contest the facts of the case, at least one state Senator, Drew Springer, R-Muenster, has called on the Senate to reopen the case. Sen. Springer contends Paxton’s actions are the equivalent of an admission of guilt.
“I don’t understand how a Republican can look at someone in the Democratic party and point our finger at them and say that person is corrupt if we can’t do the same within our own party,” Rep. Patterson argued.
Patterson is convinced Paxton will eventually be deposed and have to answer questions under oath.
And the Republican lawmaker says he would support a settlement agreement only if the Attorney General answered questions under oath about everything that happened.
“It’s gotten so repetitive now, that almost every single day, the entire focus of the Office of the Attorney General is about how to protect Ken Paxton from answering any question whatsoever under oath,” the Republican said.
Rep. Patterson also took aim at Republicans in Congress and didn’t hold back when criticizing what he views as nothing more than photo ops when they visit the border.
And he recently sparred with Republican Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, over the issue on the social media platform X.
“These Republican Congress members come down to the border and have their little press conference down there and have all this tough talk and it just, honestly, pisses me off because no one in Congress does anything to help anybody but themselves. And I’m just disgusted by the whole lot of them,” Patterson said bluntly.
Rep. Patterson also goes unplugged on the far right disruptors in the Texas GOP. And he explains why he thinks the federal government should just be shut down, saying he can’t point to three conservative policy wins in his adult lifetime. Listen to the entire episode to learn more. Cheers!
