Well, Attorney General Ken Paxton cannot say he is surprised. The Texas Bar Association has taken action against his bar license. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Texas Bar first sued Paxton’s First Assistant, Brent Webster. Mr. Webster signed the same very weak lawsuit that AG Paxton filed in 2021. I previously wrote about that bar action against Mr. Webster here. First Asst. Webster signed the same frivolous pleading, so it was 100% likely Paxton himself would also be sued.
The lawsuit against AG Paxton explains that contrary to Paxton’s assertions in his frivolous lawsuit, he uncovered no evidence of election fraud. The suit claims AG Paxton made dishonest representations that there was enough voting malfeasance to make a difference in the election result. AG Paxton claims this action is being brought by “leftists” See Texas Tribune report here.
But, I can assure you that there are no leftists active on State Bar Committees. This action has been filed by a standing committee known as the Collin County Commission for Lawyer Discipline. Every Texas County has the same committee comprised of local volunteer attorneys. They would not have filed this action unless they were quite certain of the evidence – or in this case, the absence of evidence of voter fraud.
It was AG Paxton’s choice to let this process go this far. The normal process in all of these grievance committees is to allow the accused attoney to accept review by the committee or for the attorney to seek trial in open curt. Normally, the committee only issues a private reprimand for the first offense. Paxton knew if he chose to proceed with the committee only, then all he would see was a private reprimand. But, It seems that AG Paxton and First Asst. Webster both chose a full-blown trial in open court.
AG Paxton has proven to be adept at delaying legal actions against him. That may be his current plan, as well. These grievance committees will sometimes impose additional discipline if they are forced to file suit. AG Paxton is playing with fire.