Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) dismissed CNBC co-host Becky Quick’s questions on Senate candidate Ken Paxton’s report by invoking the findings of former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department.
Paxton, the incumbent Texas lawyer basic, was endorsed by President Donald Trump simply days earlier than his victory final week within the GOP major runoff towards Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a race that Cruz himself had stayed out of.
After Paxton’s win, Cruz praised him as a “fearless conservative” and supplied his “full support.”
Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Tuesday, the senator was grilled on Paxton’s previous, particularly, Quick drew consideration to bribery and corruption prices leveled towards him in 2020 in a scandal that led to his impeachment, of which he was later acquitted.
“In 2020, eight top aides from his office reported him to the FBI, alleging he abused his power to help an Austin real estate investor. After the aides were fired or resigned, they sued Paxton for wrongful termination under the Texas Whistleblower Act,” she stated.
She continued: “Those allegations ultimately led the Texas House to impeach him in 2023 on charges of bribery and obstruction, although he was acquitted by the Texas Senate. As a resolution, the state had to pay $6.6 million to the whistleblowers.”
Replying, Cruz questioned the legitimacy of the fees fully, pointing to the Biden DOJ for proof.
“So, look, in the impeachment, he was acquitted. And I would point out, if you want to know how valid those charges were, just ask yourself one question: Was the Biden Department of Justice a lapdog for Republicans?” he requested.
“I don’t think they were,” he adopted. “It was the Biden DOJ who investigated Paxton and chose not to bring charges. I think that speaks a lot of volumes.”
Federal investigators spent years analyzing allegations that Paxton abused his workplace, which grew to become one of the important corruption investigations involving a distinguished Republican official.
The Associated Press reported in April 2025, nonetheless, that the DOJ underneath Biden quietly determined within the closing weeks of the administration to not convey prices towards Paxton, successfully ending the federal investigation.
The case had beforehand been taken away from federal prosecutors in Texas and positioned underneath the division’s Public Integrity Section. AP reported that the choice was advisable by a senior DOJ official who questioned whether or not prosecutors may safe a conviction.
Watch above by way of CNBC.
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