State bar sues Texas AG Paxton for election fraud claims

AUSTIN — The Texas Bar formally filed a disciplinary lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton this week for misconduct in filing a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The disciplinary lawsuit was filed by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a standing committee of the state bar. The bar, which regulates law licenses in the state, has been investigating disciplinary complaints against Paxton since last summer.

The lawsuit states that Paxton was dishonest in his claims that votes had been cast by unregistered voters – claims that had no standing and were not supported by credible evidence. The state bar has the ability to punish lawyers who commit professional misconduct, per the Office of the General Counsel of the State Bar of Texas. The nature of the punishment will vary with the seriousness of the misconduct and other factors, and may include private or public reprimands, suspension or disbarment, it said.

The news comes just after Paxton secured the Republican nomination for state attorney general, beating out former land commissioner George P. Bush, a member of the political family dynasty.

“As a result of the respondent’s actions, defendant states were required to expend time, money, and resources to respond to the misrepresentations and false statements contained in these pleading and injunction requests even though they had previously certified their presidential electors based on the election results prior to the filing of respondent’s pleadings,” it said.

In early May, Paxton announced via Twitter that the bar was investigating complaints against him, calling it a “months-long witch hunt.” He added that he believed the investigations were a political stunt by “a liberal activist group masquerading as a neutral professional association.”

A few hours after one of Paxton’s top aides was sued for similar actions related to the case, Paxton sued the Texas Bar Foundation for facilitating what he said was a “mass influx” of undocumented immigrants. The foundation is made up of attorneys and solicits donations to provide legal education and services. It is separate from the state bar, which works as an administrative arm for the Texas Supreme Court.

The series of legal battles stems from a lawsuit filed by Paxton in December 2020. It alleges that Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin violated the U.S. Constitution by changing election procedures through non-legislative means while accommodating the coronavirus pandemic. All four states also went for President Joe Biden in the election.

Days later, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the lawsuit citing that Texas had not “demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.”

Paxton could not be immediately reached for comment.