Eye on Politics: Two members of Congress from North Texas visit Ukraine
TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Members of Congress from North Texas visited with Ukraine's president this week as Russia's war against the country turns one year old. Plus, the Texas Attorney General's office is defending its proposed $3.3 million settlement with four whistleblowers and Gov. Greg Abbott shared his priorities with Arlington business leaders this week. CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink covers these stories and more in this week's episode of Eye on Politics (original air date: Feb. 23).
Every week, CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink breaks down some of the biggest political stories grabbing headlines in North Texas and beyond. Watch the latest episode of Eye on Politics in the video player above and stream new episodes live every Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. on CBS News Texas.
A year of war in Ukraine
It's been a year since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine. This week. President Joe Biden made an unannounced trip to Kyiv to meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to pledge the United States' continued support.
Two members of Congress from North Texas also visited with Zelenskyy this week as part of a delegation: Republican Rep. Keith Self and Republican Rep. Jake Ellzey.
Speaking from Poland on Wednesday, Self told Jack he's growing more concerned now that China is considering providing weapons and ammunition to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.
"We must not want this to go into NATO or between the U.S. and China," he said. "That must not happen. We must not have nuclear weapons involved. If we can keep this confined to the current battlefield, I would be all-in for that because we cannot let this get to escalate further."
Self said Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine one year ago this week because he didn't suffer any consequences after he invaded the nation of Georgia in 2008 and seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
He also cited President Biden's decision to suddenly withdraw from Afghanistan in August of 2021. "Frankly, this is happening because Putin feels emboldened. To allow him to take even part of a sovereign nation as he has done before would further embolden him."
Self said the House Foreign Affairs Committee is discussing what it can do going forward to make Russia's war against Ukraine as short as possible.
Watch Jack's full interview with Rep. Keith Self in the video player below.
Texas Attorney General's Office defends proposed whistleblower settlement
On Tuesday, the Texas Attorney General's Office defended its proposed settlement agreement in the whistleblower lawsuit filed against the state.
Chris Hilton, litigation chief at the Attorney General's Office, answered questions about the lawsuit from members of a House Appropriations Subcommittee, which held a hearing on the agency's request for the next two-year budget.
Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke to lawmakers about his office's budget request but didn't speak about the whistleblower lawsuit.
Four of Paxton's former top deputies filed suit against the state after court records showed they went to the FBI more than two years ago and made allegations of bribery among others against the Attorney General.
Paxton then fired them, calling them "rogue employees" in an agency news release. He has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
Hilton told lawmakers this case is not against Paxton. "The case is against the State of Texas and that's true of any whistleblower act employment case."
Joe Knight, an attorney for one of the whistleblowers, Ryan Vassar, said state law requires the state agency to be the defendant. "The only entity we could sue is not Mr. Paxton, but instead the office of the attorney general. The state is obligated by statute to defend the agency when a lawsuit is brought against it and when that lawsuit is resolved either in a settlement or a judgment, I think it's the state's obligation to pay that."
As part of the settlement agreement, the state would pay $3.3 million to the four men.
Watch Jack's full conversation with Joe Knight in the video player below.
Also in this episode of Eye on Politics:
- The mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington aren't facing any major challenges during the municipal elections this May. And Mayor Eric Johnson in Dallas isn't facing any challengers on the ballot. We spoke with Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at TCU, for some perspective.
- Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling across the state to sell his legislative priorities. Speaking before the Arlington Chamber of Commerce this week, he said he wants to establish business-related courts.
- CBS Texas reporter Olivia Leach reports that former President Jimmy Carter helped the Habitat for Humanity program in the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. 98-year-old Carter made headlines this week after it was announced that he has decided to receive hospice care at home instead of additional medical intervention.
- United States Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, was recently in Dallas to address thousands of Jewish students about antisemitism.
