Conflicted! Texas Railroad Commissioners Fail to "Self-Police" Their Self-Interests
New report finds Texas Railroad Commissioners took tens of thousands of dollars from energy interests with cases pending before their agency in recent years. The new study contradicts testimony by the commissioners that they “self-police” themselves against such conflicts of interest.
Texas’ three sitting Railroad Commissioners raised more than $11 million in recent years, taking 60 percent of it from the oil and gas industry that they’re elected to regulate, a new study by Texans for Public Justice, Public Citizen and the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter finds.
A Texas Treasure, 'Smitty' to Mosey Down Happy Trails.
Lobbyist for the Small Fry Hangs It Up. By Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune.
Tom “Smitty” Smith, a colorful lobbyist and liberal activist who turned Public Citizen Texas into a strong voice on environmental, utility, consumer and ethics issues, is hanging up his spurs after 31 years. “The thing that I learned time after time, story after story, is that people standing up does make a difference,” he says. Read the full story at the Texas Tribune.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
TPJ Statement on Paxton Appeal Hearing
Statement of Andrew Wheat, TPJ Research Director:
"In asking Republican appeals judges to dismiss his criminal charges
without a trial, Paxton invokes those recent precedents of Republican
appellate judges dismissing corruption cases against their party’s
leaders. Let's hope these judges can exercise some judicial restraint and allow these felony charges to be tried in an open court."
Monday, March 7, 2016
Complaints Filed Against Toll Road Directors Over Non-disclosures
TPJ
filed formal complaints with the Texas Ethics Commission today alleging that three directors of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
(CTRMA), the agency
building toll roads throughout the region, appear to have violated state financial disclosure laws. Texas Secretary of State
business filings and local property records suggest that CTRMA Chair Ray
Wilkerson, Vice Chair James Mills and Director Charles
Heimsathhave failed to disclose certain business interests in their
most recent disclosures.
"Texas’s top lawman is an admitted lawbreaker. Attorney General Ken Paxton has engaged in fraud and outright deception to personally profit at the expense of others.
Paxton will be dogged by a cloud of corruption and felony charges into the foreseeable future. Paxton must step aside now to preserve dignity and trust in the Office of Attorney General.
The only ethical path for Ken Paxton is resignation. The state's highest law enforcement officer must be held to the highest standards. - Craig McDonald, director, Texans for Public Justice.”
Monday, August 10, 2015
NY Times & Houston Chronicle profile TPJ
The felony indictment of AG Ken Paxton has prompted the NY Times and the Houston Chronicle to publish profiles on TPJ's work.
NY Times: Texas Watchdog Group Calls
Another Political Titan to Account
McKINNEY,
Tex. — When Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas was booked at the county jail here Monday on felony fraud
charges, he joined some pretty high-powered company, including Tom DeLay, the
former House majority leader, and former Gov. Rick Perry, as powerful Texas
officials indicted while in office over the last decade.
The three had something else in common: a former Michigan
community organizer named Craig McDonald. The cases leading to the indictments,
Mr. DeLay’s in 2005 and Mr. Perry’s in 2014, started with the low-budget,
nonprofit government watchdog group Mr. McDonald runs out of a basement office
in Austin, with 30-year-old furniture and few frills. (Read more.)
Watchdog makes big waves with small resources By Peggy Fikac August 9, 2015
AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton and former Gov. Rick Perry may have a long legal slog ahead as they battle their indictments. But Craig McDonald, whose watchdog group filed the criminal complaints that spurred both cases, isn’t saying where he thinks their road should end. The job he sees for himself with regard to their cases was all but over when the indictments were delivered. Read the full profile.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Statement on AG Ken Paxton criminal investigation
Craig McDonald Statement
on Criminal Investigation of Texas AG Ken Paxton
"Texans need to know if the state's top law enforcement officer committed
serious crimes. No public official--no matter how powerful--is above the
law. The integrity of the legal system is at stake. For months Attorney General Paxton
has suggested that his admitted securities law violations merit nothing more
than a slap on the wrist. Now a special prosecutor says that he will
present a grand jury with evidence that Paxton's alleged securities fraud
constitute a first-degree felony. It's time to determine in a court of law
if Attorney General Paxton violated the very state laws that he is supposed to
uphold and defend."
Last July Texans for Public Justice filed a
formal complaintwith the Travis County District Attorney, seeking to determine
if there was evidence to charge Ken Paxton with state securities law violations.
That district attorney forwarded the complaint to Collin County District
Attorney Greg Willis, where the alleged crimes occurred. Willis, a longtime
friend and business partner of Paxton, recused himself, leading to the
appointment of the special prosecutors who now are preparing to present their
findings to grand jury.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Abbott & Lege doom ethics reform
Legislators thumbed their noses at Abbott's ethics
emergency.The
legislature put a few band-aids on gaping wounds and then passed bills
that make the wounds deeper. They buried two of
Abbott's three modest priorities, either with his behind-the-scenes help or his
indifference. Read the joint press statement from Public Citizen and TPJ.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Prosecutor says Perry intended to obstruct Public Integrity investigations
Special prosecutor Michael McCrum has updated the original indictment against former Governor Rick Perry, providing more detail on the actions and motivations behind Perry's veto of the Public Integrity Unit's budget. The updated indictments contend Perry's general disapproval of the watchdog's investigations prompted him to "obstruct the continued operation of the Public Integrity Unit."
Statement re: Judge's Refusal to Dismiss Perry Charges
"Rick
Perry, his high-priced legal team and out-of-state pundits have long
argued that Perry's indictments are so flimsy that they will not stand
up in court. Today a top GOP judge again refused to dismiss the case.
The prosecutor and a grand jury have said there's compelling evidence
against Perry. That evidence should be presented in court for all to
see. The chances of that happening improved today,"said TPJ director
Craig McDonald.
Texans
for Public Justice filed a criminal complaint against Perry in June of
last year. That complaint led to Perry's indictment by a Texas grand
jury on two counts related to his abuse of office.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Abbott Clobbers Davis in Race for Payday Lender Money
Predatory-lending interests have given $402,959 to Gregg Abbott and $10,500 to Wendy Davis since 2009. According to the most recent disclosure reports, payday interests have given Abbott $130,222 in 2014 while making no contributions to Davis.
“Today’s decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is disappointing if not surprising. This partisan appeals court trumped a non-partisan jury to put one of its own back on the streets. Laundering corporate money to steal an election for your party is not a crime - so long as that same party controls the courts.” - Craig McDonald, Director, Texans for Public Justice.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Con Job: Campaign Money & Phantom Jobs at the Texas Enterprise Fund
TPJ has documented the questionable job creation reports at the Texas Enterprise Fund since 2010. TPJ has also tracked campaign contributions from TEC grant recipients to Governor Perry and other state officials.
Today's auditor report on TEF warrants revisiting some of our research.
Grand Jury Seated in Perry Veto Threat - Perry Lawyers-Up
A Travis County Grand Jury was empaneled on April 14 to hear evidence in TPJ's criminal complaint alleging that Governor Perry abused his authority when he threatened to veto the budget of the Travis Country Public Integrity Unit. Perry also announced he has retained a high-profile criminal defense attorney to represent him in the matter.
U.S. Supreme Court Decision Removes $123,200 Overall Limit
on Contributions to Federal Candidates & PACS
“The McCutcheon ruling confirms that the Robert’s Court is intent on returning to the days when politics and government were the sole domain of the rich,” said Craig McDonald, Director, Texans for Public Justice.
“This Court is fine with the notion that the size of one's wallet determines the strength of one's political influence. To this Court, it's "one dollar, one vote" instead of ‘one person, one vote,’” statement by Joanne Richards, President Common Ground for Texas.
"The ‘pay for play’ decision by the Supreme Court has dimmed our democracy. The gates are fully open for the utra-rich to buy those who were once considered the representatives of the people,” Liz Wally, Clean Elections Texas Executive Director.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Abbott Takes Additional $87,738 from Predatory Lenders
Greg Abbott’s January 15 fundraising report reveals $87,738 in contributions from predatory loan industry sources between July 1, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2013. Abbott’s total take from the industry since 2009 is $271,738. Researchers did not find any predatory-loan contributions in the latest Davis report, keeping her total at $10,500 since 2009.
Itemized Lists of Predatory Lender Money to Abbott & Davis
View/download lists of itemized contributions from predatory lending interests to Attorney General Greg Abbott and Senator Wendy Davis. (PDF formats.) Contribution data covers the period January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2013, the most recent data available from the Texas Ethics Commission.
New lobby disclosures expose those lobbyists who work on the payrolls of corporate special interests--even as they advise Texas political campaigns. Starting with a trio of Delisi Communications lobbyists dubbed "the Delisi Threesi," a new TPJ report examines 10 consultants who report menages a trois with corporate and political clients. Ohhh La La!
Read the provocative new report: "Corporate-Funded Campaign Consultants."
New report finds Texas Railroad Commissioners took tens of thousands of dollars from energy interests with cases pending before their agency in recent years. The new study contradicts testimony by the commissioners that they “self-police” themselves against such conflicts of interest.
Texas’ three sitting Railroad Commissioners raised more than $11 million in recent years, taking 60 percent of it from the oil and gas industry that they’re elected to regulate, a new study by Texans for Public Justice, Public Citizen and the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter finds.
McKINNEY,
Tex. — When Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas was booked at the county jail here Monday on felony fraud
charges, he joined some pretty high-powered company, including Tom DeLay, the
former House majority leader, and former Gov. Rick Perry, as powerful Texas
officials indicted while in office over the last decade.
Predatory-lending interests have given $402,959 to Gregg Abbott and $10,500 to Wendy Davis since 2009. According to the most recent disclosure reports, payday interests have given Abbott $130,222 in 2014 while making no contributions to Davis.
