Kaufman County DA closes bribery investigation into Texas AG Ken Paxton
AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton did not break state bribery laws when he took a $100,000 gift from the CEO of a company investigated for Medicaid fraud, investigators announced Friday.
Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Wiley closed her investigation into the six-figure gift "after a thorough review of the evidence." Paxton did not run afoul of state rules regarding gifts to public officials, Wiley said, because he "had a personal relationship with the donor, in addition to a prior attorney/client relationship."
Elected officials are barred from taking "any benefit from a person the public servant knows to be subject to regulation, inspection, or investigation by the public servant or his agency" unless the gift is "conferred on account of kinship or a personal, professional, or business relationship independent of the official status of the recipient."
The dropped investigation marks a win for the Republican attorney general, who continues to fight three felony charges unrelated to the now-concluded bribery probe. The state's top lawyer recently announced his intention to run for re-election in 2018.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-politics/2017/10/27/kaufman-da-closes-bribery-investigation-texas-ag-ken-paxton
