Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was formally charged Monday with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Paxton was criminally indicted last year on a similar felony fraud charges. Paxton has spent much of this year pledging to investigate Planned Parenthood for horrible wrongdoing.
Paxton was indicted in August 2015 in Collin County for allegedly shady business dealings with a company called Servergy Inc. He’s accused of trying to sell stock for them in July 2011, when he was a member of the Texas House, and failing to disclose he was being paid to promote it. He’s also accused of acting as an investment advisor the following year without registering with the State Securities board.
Monday afternoon, the SEC joined the party:
Paxton has been showily investigating Planned Parenthood since July 2015, when the Center for Medical Progress began releasing a series of quickly debunked videos alleging PP clinics sell fetal tissue for profit.
Paxton staunchly continued “investigating” Planned Parenthood even while facing his own criminal charges and even after a Texas grand jury decided to charge the videomakers instead. In January, he released a statement promising he would still hold PP responsible for something or other:
“The fact remains that the videos exposed the horrific nature of abortion and the shameful disregard for human life of the abortion industry. The state’s investigation of Planned Parenthood is ongoing.”
Best of luck to Mr. Paxton with his important, entirely real investigation, especially in light of how quickly his schedule seems to be filling up.
Paxton’s mugshot from 2015 via Collin County Sheriff’s Office