Convenience Big Store: A deeper look into Ken Paxton

Focused on Money

Even before the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton gets underway next month, we have learned a whole lot more about the Collin County Republican who has been leading the office thanks to a trove of documents that have been released to the public.

Those once close to Paxton, for instance, are painting a picture of a man who obsessed over money and was susceptible to outsiders who wanted to influence how he ran the 4,200-person agency.

According to transcripts, Blake Brickman, a former deputy attorney general and one of the whistleblowers, told House investigators that Paxton regularly griped about finances at the office.

"He would always complain, literally complain about the fact that his staff would make more money than he did," he said of Paxton who earned $154,000 a year. "Money was always at the top of the mind for him."

Drew Wicker, Paxton's former executive aide, told investigators about Paxton: "He is very stingy with money."

And there's much more of that in the latest story from Taylor Goldenstein, Allie Morris and R.A. Schuetz.

And earlier we learned that the campaign donor at the center of the impeachment case created a secret Uber account that Paxton used to conceal trips to see the woman with whom he was having an affair in 2020.

While some Republicans continue to defend Paxton and attack Texas House members who led the investigation, former Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday came to the defense of the Legislature. In an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal, Perry said "We should be praising, not vilifying, them for taking their responsibilities seriously."

Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter

jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com

Who's up, who's down

Up: Houston.

For the first time since 1992, Houston will host the Republican National Convention in 2028. The city had been competing with Nashville and Miami.

Down: Donald Trump.

The former president's mugshot from Atlanta on Thursday was a long way from former Congressman Tom Delay's smiling mugshot back in 2005. Strategists for Delay say they insisted he smile so opponents wouldn't be able to use the mugshot in campaign attacks. Trump, however, seems happy with the shot, putting it on social media with a battle cry: Never Surrender!

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.

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Pick of the day

Jeremy Wallace and Scott Braddock talk all things Texas politics on the Texas Take podcast, released every Friday.

Photo by: Nadya Hassan

Check out the newest episode of the Texas Take podcast with me and Scott Braddock.

What else I'm reading

Despite Gov. Greg Abbott's assurances earlier this year that a private school voucher program would not hurt Texas high school football, the Dallas Morning News writes about how many Texas coaches remained worried about the potential impact on their sport. "We are very concerned about vouchers," Texas High School Coaches Association executive director Joe Martin said.