Texas AG Paxton Removing Self From Some Duties Following Indictment
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AUSTIN (AP) - Criminal charges that accuse Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of defrauding investors are causing the state's top prosecutor to remove himself from some duties at work, his office said Wednesday.
The recusals mark some of the first indications that a three-count indictment unsealed in August is affecting the job that Paxton overwhelmingly was voted into a year ago.
The acknowledgment that Paxton has begun avoiding certain tasks also came on the same day that another indicted state attorney general, Pennsylvania Democrat Kathleen Kane, told her staff that some 98 percent of her job won't be affected by the looming suspension of her law license. Kane is charged with leaking secret grand jury material to a newspaper.
Paxton has pleaded not guilty and has said the felony charges will not distract from his official duties. But spokeswoman Cynthia Meyer said their office has begun removing him from potential conflicts.
That includes matters involving the Texas State Securities Board, which fined Paxton $1,000 last year for not disclosing commissions he received for referring clients to a financial adviser.
"Any recusal under this policy is intended to go beyond the letter and spirit of the governing law and rules," Meyer said.
The recusals were first reported by Texas Lawyer.
Paxton is accused of defrauding wealthy investors in 2011, when he was a state legislator, by urging them to invest in a tech startup without disclosing that he was being paid by the company. He faces five to 99 years in prison if found guilty of the most serious charges.
It is not clear how often Paxton has removed himself from duties so far. Meyer said a formal public records request must be filed for that information.
But one example came in late September: A rural county asked Paxton's office whether taxpayer dollars could cover the legal fees of a local official who was indicted but found not guilty. Rulings on such legal questions are known as opinions -- one of the main jobs of the office -- and are typically signed by the attorney general. Paxton avoided taking on a question involving an indicted elected official and delegated the signature to Chip Roy, his first assistant attorney general.
In a letter explaining the decision, Paxton cited the desire to avoid "even the appearance of impropriety."
Meyer said Paxton also is recusing himself from agency matters that involve the Texas Ethics Commission and private law firms that are defending Paxton in his criminal case.
Bill Mateja, one of Paxton's attorneys, downplayed the recusals and said the situation has caused minimal disruption in Paxton's office.
"It's rare that you have cases that command the individual attention of the attorney general," Mateja said.
A Fort Worth judge is overseeing Paxton's case, and there has been little movement since Paxton turned himself in for booking in August.
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