AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday reportedly closed an investigation of possible abuse surrounding the FBI raids of real estate investor Nate Paul's home and offices last August – a maneuver that set off a harsh reaction from Paul's attorney on Sunday.
Attorney Michael Wynne demanded Paxton preserve records and put his office on notice of possible litigation involving the alleged mishandling of Paul's complaint about search warrants used by law enforcement to raid his premises.
The FBI told the Record last week that it is the agency's policy to neither confirm nor deny investigations and further that it is not aware of any criminal charges pending against Paul.
Earlier this month, several members of Paxton’s staff accused him of abuse of office and bribery, with media outlets connecting Paul’s $25,000 political contribution to Paxton in 2018.
Paxton later openly called the staffers “rogue employees” and stated he was obligated to conduct an investigation because Paul’s complaint was referred to him from the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
“The mishandling of this complaint … has risen to an alarming level,” Wynne's letter states. “My client was deprived of a proper review of his complaint, as the review became the collateral damage of apparent dysfunction in the OAG.”
According to the letter, seven weeks after the case was referred to the OAG, Paul and Wynne met with David Maxwell, the director of law enforcement of the OAG.
During the meeting, Maxwell, a former Texas Ranger, allegedly “berated” Paul, telling him he would never believe that law enforcement executed a search without proper authorization, no matter what evidence was presented to him.
The meeting was recorded and reviewed by Paxton, former First Assistant AG Jeff Mateer and Deputy AG Mark Penley.
Paxton, according to the letter, “expressed concerns” over Maxwell’s “inappropriate conduct” and a subsequent meeting took place with Maxell and Penley, where Paul and Wynne were “regrettably” met with the “same hostile attitude.”
At a third meeting, which Paxton and two OAG forensic experts attended, Paul demonstrated “mistakes in the forensic assessment” that “appeared to be an embarrassment” to Paxton’s office.
“Immediately thereafter, Mr. Maxwell again became aggressively hostile to my client, yelling in his face and threatening him for pursuing his Complaint,” the letter states. “My client told Mr. Maxwell that he would not give in to his intimidation, and my client and I left the meeting.”
Paxton appointed outside counsel to review the complaint.
The letter goes on to state that Penley, even though he was no longer assigned to the matter, kept calling Wynne asking for documents related to the complaint review.
“Recent media reports of communications from employees within the OAG suggest that Mr. Penley ‘closed the investigation for lacking merit” on August 20, 2020, which is blatantly false given voicemails left for me by Mr. Penley as recently as September 14, 2020 in attempts to obtain documentation and attorney-client privileged information regarding the complaint,” the letter states.
The letter also accuses OAG employees of making numerous inappropriate and false statements to the media.
“The complaint is meritorious and deserving of review,” the letter states. “The circumstances of the search are among the most egregious examples of inappropriate behavior by government officials that I have witnessed in my professional experience.”
Listed in the letter are examples of evidence supporting Paul’s complaint, including evidence of tampering with government records by individuals involved in the raids.
“The chaos within the OAG and public pressure created by the media spectacle resulted in media reports late Friday indicating the ‘investigation is now closed,’” the letter states. “We were never contacted by the OAG regarding this apparently pressured decision, and as such question whether this was in fact an accurate and a legitimate communication from your office.”
Wynne is asking the OAG to “address all of the matters set forth in this notice.”