A former Texas Ranger who became Attorney General Ken Paxton's top law enforcement official before testifying against him at his impeachment trial endorsed Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico Tuesday in a new campaign ad.
"Ken Paxton ended my five decade career because I blew the whistle on his corruption," Maxwell, a member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, says in the online spot.
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Maxwell was one of eight top aides who reported Paxton to law enforcement in 2020, accusing him of abusing the office to help a friend and campaign donor. No charges were ever filed, but the allegations formed the bulk of the impeachment charges brought against Paxton by the Texas House.
Maxwell testified against Paxton in the Senate's impeachment trial in 2023. The members ultimately acquitted Paxton, who had insisted that the effort to remove him from office was politically motivated.
Maxwell, who was fired along with several other whistleblowers, sued Paxton's office. Last year, a civil judge in Travis county awarded them $6.7 million to cover lost wages, emotional pain and attorney’s fees.
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Maxwell's endorsement of Talarico follows a similar endorsement of Dan Cogdell, who was part of Paxton's legal defense team during the impeachment trial. Polls have shown Paxton and Talarico neck-and-neck in the months before the...
In a 2017 piece in The New York Times, voting expert Ari Berman wrote, “The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed tactics that prevented blacks, Hispanics and other minority groups from voting. But fo...