Tag Archives: corruption

The Associated Press reports: Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for his role in the largest corruption scandal in state history. Householder had pleaded for mercy ahead of the sentencing — not on behalf of himself, but his wife of 40 years, sons and friends. The 64-year-old Republican appeared before U.S. …

The Washington Examiner reports: Prosecutors in the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have expanded their investigation into his real estate dealings. The dealings under scrutiny are $3.5 million worth of properties purchased by Paxton and his family after he came under federal investigation, the Wall Street Journal revealed. Purchased from July 2021 to April 2022, the properties include …

The Washington Post reports: The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) steered $92 million last year in leftover federal coronavirus stimulus money to a controversial highway interchange project that directly benefits a top political donor, according to state records. The decision by the Florida Department of Transportation to use money from the 2021 American Rescue Plan for the I-95 …

The Daily Beast reports: The Kentucky Democratic Party has asked the FBI and Justice Department to investigate a series of campaign contributions to Republican attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron from officials at a company that his office was investigating, citing possible “serious violations” of ethics laws. “Kentucky law prohibits the Attorney General from using or attempting to use …

Reuters reports: After Ron DeSantis, an avid golfer, moved into the Florida governor’s mansion in 2019, workers installed a golf simulator worth tens of thousands of dollars in the private pool cabana so he could practice his game. But DeSantis did not pay for the simulator. Neither did the state government. Instead, it was funded by a wealthy donor and …

The Washington Post reports: For decades, the ambitions of Florida’s Republican governors were stymied by the liberal-leaning state Supreme Court. That is, until Ron DeSantis was elected. The court let him erase a congressional district with a large Black population. It opened the door to a law making it easier to impose the death penalty. Now, it’s poised to rule …

“I have twice been elected to represent the nearly one million Texans who reside in Senate District 8, and it is a tremendous honor and privilege to be their voice in the Texas Legislature. “Each time I was elected, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of this great state, and Texas law compels each member …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas’ highest criminal court ruled Wednesday that the securities fraud case against now-suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s should remain in Houston, settling a key issue in the 8-year-old case as Paxton faces an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate this summer. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in a 6-3 ruling, overturned lower-court decisions that said …

The Associated Press reports: Criminals and gangs grabbed the money. But so did a U.S. soldier in Georgia, the pastors of a defunct church in Texas, a former state lawmaker in Missouri and a roofing contractor in Montana. All of it led to the greatest grift in U.S. history, with thieves plundering billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief aid …

An update on this morning’s news via The Texas Tribune: Nate Paul, the Austin real estate investor central to allegations of illegal conduct by suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, has been charged with eight counts of making false statements to financial institutions. Paul, 36, allegedly overstated his assets and understated his liabilities to fraudulently obtain loans, according to a 23-page …

The Washington Post reports: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has asked for more time to file annual financial disclosures following criticism that he failed to report luxury travel and real estate deals with a Texas billionaire and Republican donor. Thomas’s 2022 filing was highly anticipated after ProPublica reported on the justice’s financial dealings with his close friend and benefactor, the …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A Republican state attorney last May declined to prosecute six voter fraud cases that involved circumstances strikingly similar to the cases later brought against 20 ex-felons by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ election police unit and statewide prosecutors. The office of State Attorney Bill Gladson confirmed six convicted sex offenders in Lake County had voted in the 2020 …

NBC News reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has quietly changed state guidelines, essentially giving its blessing for a state-level political committee he previously ran to move millions of dollars to a super PAC helping his presidential campaign. For years, elections officials said such a transfer to federal super PACs would not be allowed. But in March — just months before …

The Texas Tribune reports: As Ken Paxton’s scandals have mounted, Angela Paxton has stood by his side, and over two terms in the Senate seat he once held, she has done little to disentangle her political legacy from her husband’s. He funded her first run with a $2 million loan from his campaign; once elected, she tried to pass legislation …

The Texas Tribune reports: In an unprecedented move, a Texas House committee voted Thursday to recommend that Attorney General Ken Paxton be impeached and removed from office, citing 20 accusations that include bribery, retaliating against whistleblowers and obstruction of justice. Around 8 p.m., the House General Investigating Committee filed its impeachment resolution with the House clerk. It included the 20 …

NBC News reports: Officials who work for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration — not his campaign — have been sending text messages to Florida lobbyists soliciting political contributions for DeSantis’ presidential bid, a breach of traditional norms that has raised ethical and legal questions and left many here in the state capital shocked. NBC News reviewed text messages from four DeSantis …

USA Today reports: Chief Justice John Roberts told an audience he is committed to ensuring the “highest standards of conduct” at the Supreme Court as pressure has mounted from congressional Democrats for changes in the wake of a series of scandals involving Justice Clarence Thomas. Without offering specifics or addressing the recent controversies directly, Roberts framed the ethics debate as …

The Texas Tribune reports: A Texas House committee on Wednesday heard stunning testimony from investigators over allegations of a yearslong pattern of misconduct and questionable actions by Attorney General Ken Paxton, the result of a probe the committee had secretly authorized in March. In painstaking and methodical detail in a rare public forum, four investigators for the House General Investigating …

The New York Times reports: Ahead of an expected White House bid, Mr. DeSantis has relied heavily on his rich allies to ferry him around the country to test his message and raise his profile. Ethics experts said the travel — and specifically the role of the nonprofit — shows how Mr. DeSantis’s prolonged candidate-in-limbo status has allowed him to …

“This is absolutely dreadful. This is an attack on Justice Thomas, a good man who has risen from poverty in the Jim Crow south to a position as one of the most respected jurists in our nation’s history. “They don’t like that. They don’t like the fact he has the audacity to be a conservative as a black man. This …