By saying he'll quit contesting allegations of corruption leveled against him by whistleblowers in a lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to accomplish two things:
First, and perhaps most importantly, avoid — at least for now — having to publicly answer questions about the myriad accusations against him, which led to the Texas House impeaching him and ultimately the Texas Senate clearing him. And second, go back to calling his once-trusted top aides "rogue employees," political pawns and whatever else he wants.
Paxton filed a motion Thursday saying he no longer wants to continue his court fight. He didn't admit wrongdoing; he just said he wasn't going to argue the point. But the next day, Travis County state District Judge Jan Soifer set a Feb. 1 date for the attorney general to sit for a deposition in the case.
If Paxton is allowed to walk away from the case with no further legal proceedings, he could deny his political adversaries the potential opportunity to see him admit to wrongdoing or to plead the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination. At the same time, he's free to go back on the offensive and further cement his standing with the Texas GOP's conservative base.
Paxton's statement and the accompanying filing with the 250th District Court in Austin about him wanting to walk away from the long-running litigation...
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