Donor threatens to sue embattled Texas AG over dropped case
Source: Associated Press
JAKE BLEIBERG,
Associated Press
Oct. 12, 2020
Updated: Oct. 12, 2020 12:03 p.m.
DALLAS (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is already facing calls to resign and accusations of crimes by his own staff over an investigation sought by one of his wealthy donors. Now, the Republican’s office has to contend with a threat of possible legal action from that donor.
In a letter sent Sunday, a lawyer for Austin real estate developer Nate Paul wrote that Paxton's staff was hostile to the probe from the first. The letter does not specifically say Paul will sue, but it is styled as a “litigation hold” demanding the preservation of all related documents. It also questions whether the announcement last week closing the investigation was legitimate.
The letter adds to the confusion around a mire of investigations and legal disputes that came to public attention this month when seven top lawyers in Paxton's office accused him of bribery, abuse of office and other crimes. The unspecified accusations stem from the attorney general hiring an outside lawyer to look into Paul's claims of wrongdoing by state and federal law enforcement.
“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,’” wrote Paul's attorney, Michael Wynne. “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.”
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/Donor-threatens-to-sue-embattled-Texas-AG-over-15639248.php
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Who is Nate Paul, the real estate investor linked to abuse-of-office allegations against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton?
Earlier in his career, media reports called the now 33-year-old real estate investor a “wunderkind,” a “rising star” and a “prodigy.” Now he’s fighting more than a dozen bankruptcies and has been linked to criminal allegations against an embattled Texas politician.
by Edgar Walters and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
Oct. 7, 20205 AM
Walk through downtown Austin or its rapidly developing nearby neighborhoods and it’s impossible to miss the massive black banners draped over office buildings, warehouses and bars. “Another World Class Project,” reads one posted to the metal siding of a squat industrial building downtown. Other banners riff on their own ubiquity with a pithy line popularized by DJ Khaled: “Another One.”
The promotional campaign belongs to an Austin-based real estate investment firm owned by Nate Paul. World Class Capital Group has acquired an enviable portfolio of some of Austin’s choicest parcels with ambitious plans to lease or develop them. Paul has described himself in media reports as wanting to become “the youngest self-made real estate billionaire.”
These days, Paul’s name is associated not just with a real estate empire but with a series of recent high-profile bankruptcies and a much-publicized raid on his home and business office last year by FBI and U.S. Department of Treasury agents. The investigation remained active as recently as April, though no criminal charges have been filed, according to the Austin Business Journal.
And now he has been linked to bribery and abuse-of-office allegations made against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Nate Paul and Donald Trump in Dallas (2015)
