Kaufman County DA Closes Bribery Investigation Into Texas AG Ken Paxton

AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton did not break state bribery laws when he took a $100,000 gift from the CEO of a company investigated for Medicaid fraud, investigators announced Friday.Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Wiley closed her investigation into the six-figure gift "after a thorough review of the evidence." Paxton did not run afoul of state rules regarding gifts to public officials, Wiley said, because he "had a personal relationship with the donor, in addition to a prior attorney/client relationship." Elected officials are barred from taking "any benefit from a person the public servant knows to be subject to regulation, inspection, or investigation by the public servant or his agency" unless the gift is "conferred on account of kinship or a personal, professional, or business relationship independent of the official status of the recipient."The dropped investigation marks a win for the Republican attorney general, who continues to fight three felony charges unrelated to the now-concluded bribery probe. The state's top lawyer, Paxton recently announced his intention to run for re-election in 2018.  Continue reading...