October 18, 2016 5:12 PM

SB: Paxton takes a walk on getting to the truth of potential campaign abuse by his supporters

The Attorney General’s dereliction of duty in Ethics Commission case puts Republican lawmakers more at risk than ever from challengers powered by secret campaign cash

The Texas Ethics Commission is under fire in a way that goes well beyond the now-customary sniping from forces under the control of and allied with Midland oilman Tim Dunn. Statewide officeholders who have Dunn’s largesse partially to thank for their GOP primary victories are now working to further change the landscape of how those elections are fought by undermining the ability of the state’s campaign finance regulator to carry out one of its principal purposes: “To disclose fully information related to expenditures and contributions for elections and for petitioning government.”

From Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s failed attempt to force out a Republican ethics commissioner to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s sabotage of the agency’s campaign finance investigation into Dunn’s group Empower Texans, it appears the floodgates for secret cash to be poured into the 2018 GOP primaries could be as open as ever.

By Scott Braddock