The new Texas attorney general fired a warning shot at the federal government.
Speaking about his priorities, Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson said the time for President Donald Trump to use Texas as his personal law firm has come to an end.
“The MAGA movement looked at Texas as their own private law firm, which happens to have been publicly funded, which I would call corrupt,” Johnson told NBC News. “My approach will be quite different.”
Outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton drew overwhelming praise from Trump for his 11 years in office helping to oppose Democratic administrations and support his own.
Johnson comes along with an entirely new government for the state of Texas, which New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin called a “seismic” shift for the state.
“They are by far, on the conservative end of the spectrum, the biggest, most active, most powerful office,” he said of the Texas AG’s office. One of the main things that Paxton did for Trump was try to stop the certification of the 2020 election.
Johnson made it clear that he’s not using Texans’ tax dollars to fund his own personal ideological war. He will focus on the law, no matter how rich and powerful the defendant.
“If the federal government is breaking the law, and Trump seems to have a just a profound penchant for breaking the law, I will be suing him,” the new AG said. “And it’s unlikely, in my view, that he’s going to have an epiphany and suddenly start following the rules.”
Johnson may have mentioned Trump to NBC News, but speaking to KXAN in Austin, he also made it clear that he’ll be investigating Paxton’s office. Johnson pledged to conduct a top-to-bottom review of lawsuits and investigations opened under Ken Paxton, but he stopped short of announcing whether he’ll do a criminal investigation of Paxton himself.
Technically, Johnson could bring charges against Paxton over the behavior that led to the 2023 impeachment, though there would be some significant hurdles. The bigger issue for Paxton is his ongoing relationship with Austin real estate developer and donor Nate Paul.
According to former aides, Paxton used his office to help Paul specifically while he was under federal investigation, the impeachment trial found. He stepped in to help Paul with foreclosure litigation, issued favorable legal opinions, shared nonpublic information and even hired an outside lawyer to investigate Paul’s own complaints.
Allegations in the impeachment trial tied Paul to paid renovations in Paxton’s home. Paul was also alleged to have helped Paxton’s mistress with a job.
There are also possible investigations into whistleblower retaliation, misuse of state resources and even making false statements. The Justice Department has declined to investigate Paxton, even in the final days of the Biden administration. That could change under Johnson.
Johnson pledged a “new era” of transparency and said the office is done with “purely political” cases.
“My approach will not be to sue the president for fun,” Johnson told the Texas Tribune in October. He also alleged that Paxton has treated the office like a political operation.
State charges are prosecuted under state law and by state authorities. So, Trump’s pardon power applies only to federal crimes. That means a Texas governor could pardon or commute a state offense, but the president cannot wipe out a state conviction or prevent a state prosecution of anyone.