Critics are calling on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to step down following indictments that he defrauded a client. Texas Public Radio’s Ryan Poppe takes a look at the case brought against former Attorney General Jim Mattox in the 1980s, and how it compares to Paxton today.
Like Paxton, there were a few critics calling for Mattox’s resignation in 1983 after being indicted for commercial bribery and this continued even after Mattox was acquitted. Glenn Smith first worked as a reporter for the Houston Post covering the Mattox indictment.
“Anytime a politician has serious brushes with the law, they don’t come out completely unscathed," Smith said. "Even if they are acquitted of any particular charges, I think it hurts their reputation to be seen walking close to the line if not over the line.”
The two cases are very different as far as the type of charges that were filed and the fact that Mattox was serving in an official capacity versus Paxton who was working in the private sector and as a member of the Texas Legislature before taking office as attorney general.
Mattox was accused of threatening a Houston law firm if it didn’t drop a case involving his sister and later acquitted.
But Smith says it was still hard for Mattox to escape the negative connotations associated with being indicted. Mattox narrowly won a re-election bid before losing a gubernatorial campaign to Governor Ann Richards in 1991.
Rice University Public Policy Professor Mark Jones says much of the calls for Paxton’s resignation has to do with maintaining the reputation of the Attorney General’s office.
“We’re not talking about any individual, we’re not talking about any politician," Jones said. "We’re talking about the state’s chief legal law enforcement officer. The person who everyone else in the state looks to for advice. The problem with General Paxton is he is under a cloud and that cloud doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.”
In a statement released by Paxton’s attorney Joe Kendall, he says his client intends to plead not-guilty and is requesting a jury trial.
