肯·帕克斯顿(Ken Paxton)本周在共和党代表得克萨斯州参加美国参议院的决选中以压倒性优势击败现任总统约翰·科宁(Donald Trump)后，站在支持者面前，称赞唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统帮助他取得了胜利。
提到特朗普在第11个小时的支持将他推上了终点线，这位三次当选的德克萨斯州司法部长告诉人群，“华盛顿的每个人都告诉他放弃我。”
在二十多年的政治生涯中，帕克斯顿的丑闻几乎和选举胜利一样多，包括自1917年以来，他是孤星州第一位被弹劾的全州民选官员。
特朗普在白宫的第一个任期内两次被弹劾，他在背书中称帕克斯顿“忠诚”，是“真正的MAGA战士”。
帕克斯顿的胜利将在11月与民主党提名人詹姆斯·塔拉里科(James Talarico)进行中期对决，塔拉里科自2018年以来一直是德克萨斯州众议院议员。
以下是63岁的帕克斯顿在周二赢得选举之前充满争议的职业生涯的起伏时间表:
2002年11月——帕克斯顿的父亲是一名空军老兵，他是一名公司律师，自己开了一家律师事务所，他进入了政治舞台，赢得了德克萨斯州众议院的一个席位。他在2004年、2006年、2008年和2010年再次当选众议员。
2012年11月，帕克斯顿赢得了德克萨斯州参议院的席位，代表科林县和达拉斯县。
2014年11月，帕克斯顿当选为德克萨斯州第51任司法部长。作为司法部长，他的第一个重大举措是成立了一个专门打击该州人口贩运的特别小组。
2015年8月-德克萨斯州大陪审团对帕克斯顿提出了三项重罪指控，指控他两项一级证券欺诈罪和一项未向州证券委员会注册罪。这些指控发生在帕克斯顿担任州检察长之前。最严重的指控是，他鼓励人们投资德州科技公司Servergy，却没有透露他从他们的投资中赚取佣金。帕克斯顿自首后被捕，并对指控不认罪。
2016年4月-证券交易委员会宣布对帕克斯顿的联邦欺诈指控，源于Servergy调查。帕克斯顿对指控不认罪。一名联邦法官在2017年驳回了针对帕克斯顿的联邦案件。
2018年11月-帕克斯顿险胜连任州检察长。
2020年10月，州总检察长办公室的七名高级职员致信该机构的人力资源总监，指控帕克斯顿收受贿赂并滥用职权。帕克斯顿否认了这些指控，并发布了一份声明，指责这些员工做出虚假陈述。
2020年12月，为了扭转2020年总统选举，帕克斯顿对战场州佐治亚州、密歇根州、宾夕法尼亚州和威斯康星州提起诉讼。该诉讼声称，疫情时代对这些州选举程序的改变违反了联邦法律，并要求美国最高法院阻止这些州在选举团中投票。最高法院驳回了这个案子。
2022年7月，帕克斯顿对时任总统乔·拜登的行政命令提出了首次法律挑战，该命令旨在保护最高法院turnedRoe v. Wade后全国范围内的堕胎权。帕克斯顿主张将紧急医疗服务提供者转变为“无预约堕胎诊所”
2022年11月，帕克斯顿赢得了他的第三个德克萨斯司法部长任期。
2023年5月，共和党领导的德克萨斯州众议院以121票对23票弹劾帕克斯顿，指控他滥用权力帮助朋友和捐助者。他立即被停职。帕克斯顿是一个多世纪以来第一位被弹劾的德克萨斯州民选官员，他否认有不当行为，并发表了一份挑衅性的声明，称弹劾他的投票是“不公正的”和党派的“骗局”。
2023年9月，德克萨斯州参议院投票宣判帕克斯顿在所有16项弹劾条款中无罪。帕克斯顿恢复了他作为州检察长的工作。
2024年3月-就在他计划因2015年对他提起的国家起诉书中的证券欺诈指控接受审判的几周前，帕克斯顿与检察官达成了一项审前协议，以解决此案。帕克斯顿同意完成一系列行动，包括做社区服务，参加法律道德课程，支付近30万美元的赔偿。帕克斯顿没有被要求承认有罪，他发表了一份声明，说:“这个案子永远不会定罪，我也不会有罪。”
2025年4月4日-一名法官裁定，帕克斯顿违反了得克萨斯州举报人法案，当时他解雇了四名向该机构人力资源总监发送信件的司法部长办公室雇员。帕克斯顿的办公室被责令向这些前雇员支付660万美元。
2025年4月8日-帕克斯顿宣布他将竞选美国参议员，挑战共和党现任参议员约翰·科宁，他已经占据了这个席位22年。
2025年7月-帕克斯顿三十多年的妻子，德克萨斯州参议员安吉拉·帕克斯顿宣布她“基于圣经的理由”申请离婚，指控她的丈夫犯有通奸罪。
“在面临无数政治攻击和公众监督的压力后，安吉拉和我决定开始我们生活的新篇章，”帕克斯顿在一份声明中写道。“对于上帝赐予我们的这个不可思议的家庭，我感到无比自豪和感激，我将一如既往地支持我们出色的子孙后代。”
Election triumphs, a series of scandals dot Ken Paxton's political timeline
As he stood before supporters following hislopsided winthis week over incumbent John Cornyn in the Republican runoff to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, Ken Paxton singled out President Donald Trump for helping him seal the victory.
Referring to Trump's11th-hour endorsementthat propelled him over the finish line, the thrice-elected Texas Attorney General told the crowd that "everyone in Washington told him to abandon me."
In a political career spanning more than two decades, Paxton has had almost as many scandals as election victories, including being the first statewide elected official in the Lone Star State since 1917 to be impeached.
In his endorsement, Trump, who was impeached twice in his first term in the White House, called Paxton "loyal" and a "true MAGA warrior."
Paxton's win sets up a midterm face-off in November with Democratic nomineeJames Talarico, a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 2018.
Here is a timeline of the ups and downs of the 63-year-old Paxton's controversial career prior to his election victory on Tuesday:
November 2002-- The son of an Air Force veteran and a corporate lawyer who started his own law firm, Paxton enters the political arena, winning a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. He was reelected to the House in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010.
November 2012-- Paxton wins a seat in the Texas State Senate, representing Collin and Dallas counties.
November 2014-- Paxton is elected the 51st Attorney General of Texas. In his first major initiative as attorney general, he establishes a special unit dedicated to combating human trafficking in the state.
August 2015-- A Texas grand jury hands up athree-count felony indictmentagainst Paxton, charging him with two counts of first-degree securities fraud and one count of failing to register with the state securities board. The charges pre-date Paxton's tenure as state Attorney General. The most serious charge alleges that he encouraged people to invest in Servergy, a Texas technology company, without revealing he was earning a commission for their investments. Paxton is arrested after turning himself in and pleads not guilty to the charges.
April 2016-- The Securities and Exchange Commissionannounces federal fraud chargesagainst Paxton, stemming from the Servergy investigation. Paxton pleads not guilty to the charges. A federal judge in 2017 dismisses the federal case against Paxton.
November 2018-- Paxton narrowly wins re-election as state Attorney General.
October 2020-- Seven top staff members of the state Attorney General's Office send a letter to the agency's human resources director,accusing Paxtonof accepting bribes and abusing the power of his office. Paxton denies the allegations and releases a statement accusing the employees of making false statements.
December 2020-- In an attempt tooverturnthe 2020 presidential election, Paxton files a lawsuit against battleground states Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The suit claims that pandemic-era changes to election procedures in those states violated federal law and asks the U.S. Supreme Court to block the states from voting in the Electoral College. The Supreme Court rejects the case.
July 2022-- Paxton files the first legal challenge to then-President Joe Biden's executive order aimed at protecting access to abortion nationwide after the Supreme CourtoverturnedRoe v. Wade. Paxtonaccuses the administrationof turning emergency health care providers into "walk-in abortion clinics."
November 2022-- Paxton wins his third term as Texas Attorney General.
May 2023-- The Republican-led Texas House of Representativesvotes 121-23 to impeachPaxton, accusing him of misusing his power to aid friends and donors. He is immediately suspended from office. Paxton, the first Texas statewide elected official impeached in more than a century, denies wrongdoing and releases a defiant statement calling the vote to impeach him "unjust" and a partisan "sham."
September 2023-- Texas state Senatevotes to acquitPaxton on all 16 articles of impeachment. Paxton resumes his job as state Attorney General.
March 2024-- Just weeks before he is scheduled to go to trial on securities fraud charges stemming from the state indictment filed against him in 2015, Paxtonreaches a pretrial agreementwith prosecutors to resolve the case. Paxton agrees to complete a series of actions, including doing community service, taking legal ethics courses, and paying nearly $300,000 in restitution. Not required to admit guilt, Paxton releases a statement, saying, "There will never be a conviction in this case nor am I guilty."
April 4, 2025-- A judge rules thatPaxtonviolated the Texas Whistleblower Actwhen he fired four Attorney General office employees who sent a letter to the agency's human resources director. Paxton's office is ordered to pay the former employees $6.6 million.
April 8, 2025-- Paxton announces he is running for U.S. Senate, challenging Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who has held the seat for 22 years.
July 2025-- Paxton's wife of more than three decades, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, announces she isfiling for divorce"on biblical grounds," accusing her husband of committing adultery.
"After facing the pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny, Angela and I have decided to start a new chapter in our lives," Paxton writes in a statement in response to the filing. "I could not be any more proud or grateful for the incredible family that God has blessed us with, and I remain committed to supporting our amazing children and grandchildren."
