In a not so surprising turn of events, Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General, has been charged with three felony counts. Paxton joins Rick Perry, the now former governor of Texas, on the list of Texas officials indicted in the last year.
Paxton is charged with two first-degree felonies for securities fraud and a third-degree felony for failing to register with the state to sell securities. Paxton allegedly defrauded individuals of more than $100,000.
Severgy, a Texas company that has been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, is related to Paxton’s securities fraud indictments. These indictments could land Paxton in prison for up to 99 years.
The next and final charge is the failure to register charge. This charge is connected to Frits Mowery, a Paxton campaign donor, of which Paxton referred clients to without informing the clients he was receiving a large commission. The failure to register charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Though these charges seem heavy and supported by quite a bit of evidence, the Republican Party was quick to come out in defense of Paxton. They stated that the felony charges were a “sloppy process” that doesn’t meet the expectations of the judicial system that Texans expect. The Republican Party believes that liberal interest groups are trying to have Paxton judged by public opinion before he gets his day in court. This comes as a total joke considering the fact that they would be mercilessly attacking a Democrat if they were the ones being charged with a felony.
With money being so deeply rooted in politics, these charges come as no surprise to most people. As many politicians as are now being indicted for felonies involving money, the clear problem of money in politics is becoming more and more evident. If we hope to have true representation of the people, we must get money out of politics.
