Free Republic

LUBBOCK, Texas—Dan Backer, the D.C. area attorney widely known for his work with TheTeaParty.net, has come forward as the one responsible for attacking Texas Attorney General candidate State Senator Ken Paxton in a massive half-million dollar Texas ad-buy. Ken Paxton is the Tea Party candidate who Senator Ted Cruz proudly honored. A media professional who works with TheTeaParty.net told Breitbart Texas that the group has no part in what their attorney is doing. Paxton’s opponent, the clear beneficiary of Backer’s ads, is Texas State Rep. Dan Branch. Branch is a former AFL-CIO union group lobbyist who previously introduced an amendment...

Texas’ conservative Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton calls the Supreme Court decision giving same-sex couples the right to marry a “lawless ruling” and says state workers can cite their religious objections in denying marriage licenses. He warned in a statement Sunday that any clerk, justice of the peace or other administrator who declines to issue a license to a same-sex couple could face litigation or a fine. But in the nonbinding legal opinion, Paxton says “numerous lawyers” stand ready to defend, free of charge, any public official refusing to grant one. …

**SNIP** Joined by Louisiana and Kansas, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Obama administration Thursday seeking to overturn a fee imposed under the Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit seeks a refund of that amount and an order prohibiting future collections of the fee. Paxton says this is “functionally an unconstitutional tax on the states in order to fund the insolvent Obamacare mandate”. Brownback said, “The federal government is threatening to cut $1.6 billion of federal Medicaid funding affecting more than 400,000 Kansans in need unless Kansas pays millions of dollars in taxes to the federal government to support Obamacare”....

Texas is taking the gloves off when it comes to the fight over Syrian refugees by suing the federal government. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced the lawsuit yesterday, saying the Obama Administration’s plans go against federal law. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that he has filed suit on behalf of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) against the federal government to halt the relocation of refugees from Syria in the state, citing the Refugee Act of 1980, which requires that the federal government consult with state authorities in advance of such relocations. The federal government...

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick released a statement July 11 addressing the appeal of President Obama's Executive Amnesty Program. "I stand with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and a bipartisan 26-state coalition, in support of the rule of law and unified opposition to President Obama's illegal executive amnesty program." "This President has admitted he 'took an action to change the law,' as it applies to U.S. immigration policy. Congress should make laws - not the executive branch." "While we wait for a ruling on this preliminary injunction appeal before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton turned himself in Monday morning at the Collin County Jail in McKinney to be booked on three felony charges. Paxton posted a total of $35,000 bond on two counts of securities fraud and one count of failing to register as an investment adviser. Sources said a grand jury in Collin County handed up the indictments Tuesday, which were immediately sealed. The charges stem from an investigation carried out by the Texas Rangers. The first two are first-degree felonies punishable by up to 99 years in prison on conviction. The last is a third-degree felony that...

The new normal for conservatives in Texas is to be attacked by spurious complaints that trigger outrageous misuses of our justice system. This month, Attorney General Ken Paxton joined other indicted conservatives, such as former Gov. Rick Perry, who do not deserve such abuse. Paxton's indictment resulted from a criminal complaint by state Rep. Byron Cook. Cook is one of the handful of Republican legislators who joined with the Democratic caucus in 2009 to oust the last conservative house speaker, Midland's own Tom Craddick. The House has since been ruled by Cook and other Republicans who joined forces to form...

AUSTIN – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with civil securities fraud for promoting a North Texas tech firm, adding to the first-term Republican’s growing legal woes. Paxton was charged with persuading others to buy stock in North Texas tech firm Servergy, Inc. without disclosing he was being paid to promote the company. The attorney general, a Republican from McKinney, also faces criminal fraud charges in Texas for these same allegations. ...