The attorney general’s long-simmering securities fraud case appears closer to resolution, while the FBI has probed the same allegations that played a major role in his impeachment.
Federal investigators began their investigation after several top Paxton deputies went to the FBI and alleged the attorney general had committed crimes, including bribery, while trying to help his friend and political donor, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. Justice Department prosecutors who typically handle high-profile public corruption cases took over the case in February.
Federal law experts and former prosecutors contacted by The Texas Tribune say the impeachment result isn’t likely to alter the course of Paxton’s securities fraud case. As far as the FBI investigation, they said, witness testimony in the impeachment hearings could help federal officials evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their case.
In the federal case, the FBI was undoubtedly following the testimony at the state Capitol as the House impeachment managers called a number of witnesses, including former Paxton deputies-turned-whistleblowers, said Michael Bromwich, senior counsel at Washington D.C.-based Steptoe law firm and a former Justice Department inspector general.