An ethics investigation into an influential conservative group has brought Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office into court against a major donor who guaranteed a $1 million loan for his campaign last year.
Court filings show that the attorney general's office is now representing the Texas Ethics Commission in a long-running probe of Empower Texans, a limited-government group that has politically supported Paxton for years, the San Antonio Express-News reported Thursday.
Watchdog groups say it creates a conflict of interest, while the attorney general's office maintains it simply is doing its job to defend state agencies in court.
"As in all cases, we will capably represent our client agency in this matter," Paxton spokeswoman Cynthia Meyer said.
Empower Texans is a "dark money" nonprofit that does not have to disclose its donors. It often financially backs tea party candidates who challenge more moderate and long-serving Republicans in the Texas Legislature.
State campaign finance regulators launched an investigation into the group more than three years ago based on sworn complaints about Empower Texan's campaign finance activity.
The first brief in the case from Paxton's office amounted to a strongly-worded defense of the ethics commission's authority,
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Empower Texans is "thwarting TEC's attempts to investigate (and potentially dismiss) the sworn complaints at issue because ultimately, Plaintiffs do not believe they have to comply with TEC's lawful power to investigate sworn complaints," the attorney general's office wrote.
Even before Paxton became attorney general in January, Empower Texans supported his failed run for speaker of the Texas House in 2011 and his campaign for state Senate in 2012, calling him "a rare candidate who has cast politically courageous votes."
The group has also signaled support for Paxton throughout a recent grand jury investigation that resulted in the attorney general being indicted on securities fraud charges last month. Attorneys for Paxton have said he will plead not guilty and demand a jury trial.
Last year, the ethics commission hired a private law firm in a separate matter of allegations that Empower Texans President Michael Quinn Sullivan violated state law by failing to register as a lobbyist. The case remains pending at a state appeals court.
