Breaking: Texas AG Paxton Takes Plea Deal on Securities Fraud Charges

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and prosecutors have agreed to dismiss almost 9-year-old criminal charges if the Republican state official completes community supervision and pays $300,000 in restitution.

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Terms of the plea agreement, announced Tuesday in a pretrial hearing, also include 100 hours of community service and 15 hours of legal education classes focused on ethics.

Paxton was to face trial on April 15 on three felony counts, including two charges of securities fraud. If Paxton, who was in the courtroom Tuesday, completes the terms of the arrangement, the charges will not appear on his record.

Ed Morrissey

That's a pretty good deal for Paxton, even if it does mean parting with $300,000. That makes this dispute into a civil rather than criminal offense, for all intents and purposes, and won't even leave him with a record. Assuming Paxton completes his part of the plea deal, it leaves him with his political options still open. 

This isn't his only legal headache. Paxton faces a lawsuit from the State Bar of Texas for allegedly misrepresenting facts in his Supreme Court brief in which he claimed to possess proof of voter fraud in four other states. There's also a whistleblower lawsuit pending with allegations of bribery in that mix. But this was the only case that threatened Paxton with actual prison time. 

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