POT OF GOLD: Did Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s trusted, troubled strategist shake down Texas hemp growers?

In the Texas Observer TPJ's Andrew Wheat exposes a political consultant's shake down of Texas hemp growers.

 Read the full story at the Texas Observer.

Whistleblowers Say Paxton Lying About Allegations

Read the latest about Ken Paxton and the whistleblowers accusing him of lying on the campaign trail at the Texas Tribune.

AG Paxton: Texas Exceptionalism on Corruption

TPJ's Andrew Wheat's essay on the corruption trail of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

 New in the Texas Observer.  

Justice For Some: Texas Observer/KXAN Investigate Corruption Prosecutions in Texas

Texas Observer leads investigation into a system that fails to hold elected officials accountable.

Read Lise Olsen's report at the Observer.

ERCOT's Board Gave Heavily to House Members

As the Texas House investigates the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Lobby Watch finds that powerful energy interests seated on ERCOT’s board gave heavily to House members. Is a House that receives $700,000 in ERCOT-related mortgage payments more forgiving of catastrophic blackouts?

 

Read the new Lobby Watch.

TPJ & Sierra Club Investigate Oil and Gas Industry Clout

TPJ is engaged in a joint research project with the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter to explore oil & gas industry influence in Texas.  The organizations will publish a series of major reports to document and expose the political clout of Texas oil and gas interests on our elected legislators, regulators and statewide officials.  The reports will be published in the Spring.

Report Tracks Austin Campaign Money

FAULT LINES
Campaign Contributions Expose Austin's Divide

Austin's city elections were dominated by residents of the three most affluent and least racially diverse city council districts.  Three districts delivered 68 percent of all the money raised from Austin residents.  In contrast, low-income minority district residents contributed just four percent of Austin campaign cash.

Read the FAULT LINES report. 

Abbott attacks fellow Republicans for pushing ethics reforms

Texas Tribune:  Abbott builds on six-figure push to unseat GOP Rep. Sarah Davis.

Read full story at the Texas Tribune, and
Ross Ramsey column on Abbott attacking his own.

Texas Observer digs into tax-writing conflicts at the lege

Lawmaker on State Tax Committee Also Works for Texas’ Corporate Welfare King

State Representative Drew Springer started working for corporate tax firm Ryan, LLC in March. He doesn't recall any conflicts of interest from a session spent overseeing Texas tax law.

Read complete story at the Texas Observer.

Lawmakers Rub Out Emergency Ethics Reforms - TPJ, Public Citizen Statement

Gov. Abbott's "Emergency" 
Goes Unheeded - Again!

For the second legislative session in a row, lawmakers largely ignored Gov. Greg Abbott's emergency call for ethics reform.

See the fate of 10 Key Reform Bills and TPJ's reaction.

The Paxton Indictments: Background & Timeline

 

TPJ has prepared a background memo and timeline on the Paxton indictments.

View the Paxton backgrounder.

.

Statement on passage of SB 10 - public corruption enforcement.

Statement by Craig McDonald, director, Texans for Public Justice.

 “SB 10 is a politician’s dream posing as reform legislation. The bill creates a special legal system for the exclusive use of politicians. The bill does more to promote corruption than prosecute corruption.

SB 10 invites cronyism and hometown favoritism. Crimes should be prosecuted in the county in which they were committed.

Crimes of political corruption need to be treated like all other crimes.  Political crimes do not deserve special treatment. 

It is time for Texas to turn away from the crony corruption of the Perry administration.  This bill embraces it.”

TPJ calls for Paxton special prosecutor. Sends complaint to Dallas & Collin Counties

TPJ today called upon Collin County DA Greg Willis to recuse himself from the securities fraud investigation of Attorney General Ken Paxton in order to trigger the appointment of an independent special prosecutor.

“Greg Willis’ stonewalling amounts to obstruction of justice,” said TPJ Director Craig McDonald. “Willis needs to step aside.  A special prosecutor needs to investigate whether or not the attorney general is a crook.”

In January, TPJ's original complaint against Paxton was referred to Willis and the Dallas County district attorney by Travis County prosecutors, who concluded that any illegal conduct by Paxton occurred in Collin and Dallas Counties.  The Houston Chronicle reported last week that Willis had taken no action to investigate the matter.  Last May, Paxton admitted to state regulators that he committed securities violations that constitute felony fraud.  Neither the Collin or Dallas DA's have initiated a criminal investigation of these apparent crimes.

In a letter sent today to Willis TPJ cited his friendship and joint business deals with Paxton as reasons why he needs to recuse himself to clear the way for an unbiased special prosecutor.

Letter to DA Willis calling for a Special Prosecutor.
Complaint filed in Collin County.

Lobby Watch: The Politician, Lobby & Corruption Triad

Who knew Sen. Joan Huffman would have trouble passing her cynical scheme to keep corrupt politicians out of jail? Yet it's too soon to rule out SB 10--which also protects corrupt lobbyists.

Lobby Watch wonders if the lobbyists who gave Huffman more than $200,000 can twist a few arms to push through this bill that is so awkwardly and transparently self-serving. 

It'll take the ultimate special-interest coalition to secure immunity for lobbyists and politicians alike.

The Huffman-Lobbyist connections are exposed in Lobby Watch.

Statement on SB10, Public Integrity Unit

Statement by Craig McDonald.

 “SB 10 is a politicians dream, a virtual get-out-of-jail-free card for public officials. SB 10 creates a special legal system reserved for politicians only -- a system designed to end corruption prosecutions, not pursue them. 

The bill is another attack on local control by big government Republicans. It strips all county district attorneys of their traditional power to prosecute corruption within their own jurisdictions. It transfers that power directly to the Attorney General. 

Senator Huffman claims her bill will “restore public confidence” in corruption investigations and then hands those cases to a partisan attorney general, himself under a cloud of corruption allegations. In fact, punishing a corrupt politician under SB 10 requires the unanimous approval of the attorney general, the Texas Rangers, a state judge AND a district or county attorney SB 10 will likely breed more corruption by advertising the fact that there is no functioning deterrent.” 

_________________________________________________________

Between 1978 and 2012 the Travis County Public Integrity Unit has pursued public corruption cases in a non-partisan fashion.  Of the 21 elected officials it has prosecuted, 15 were Democrats and six were Republicans.

 

Lobby Watch: Public Integrity Hinges on Prosecutorial Independence

Surrounded by political corruption, leaders of Texas' ruling party are clamoring to transfer the Public Integrity Unit from the Travis County District Attorney to the Texas Attorney General.

An analysis of campaign contribution data finds that recent Public Integrity indictees Tom DeLay and Kino Flores had much more in common with recent Texas Attorneys General than they did with recent Travis County District Attorneys. 

A new Lobby Watch concludes that transferring the Public Integrity Unit would reward crooked politicians by undermining prosecutorial independence. Indeed, that may even be the legislative intent...

Read the new Lobby Watch.