The authority to prosecute election-related crimes was taken away from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Posted by The Benny Show, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
The Benny ShowOct 26, 2026
Multiple sources confirm that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled the attorney general lacks independent authority to prosecute election crimes, and that the Court rejected Paxton's rehearing bid in 2022.
What was said
… I mean, do we really believe those Soros DAs will prosecute voter fraud or election fraud? Of course not. That is why it is so important to have that power to prosecute within the attorney general's office, and I fought to reinstitute that. It was taken away, of course, from General Paxton, and I will aggressively enforce our election integrity laws to make sure that our elections are secure and that only legally qualified citizens are voting in Texas. …
The Benny Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Paxton's own Attorney General office press release confirms the Court of Criminal Appeals decision stripped the OAG of its authority to prosecute criminal election law violations, and he sought rehearing.[1]
Supports. The Hill reports the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that the attorney general does not, with few exceptions, have authority to independently prosecute criminal cases such as voter fraud.[2]
Supports. The Texas Tribune reports the Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Paxton's final attempt to regain the power to unilaterally prosecute election cases in September 2022.[3]
Supports. KXAN (2024) and The Boston Globe (2026) both report that the court ruled the Texas Constitution prevents Paxton from independently prosecuting election crimes.[4][5]
Context. The Boston Globe indicates Texas Republicans passed a new law the year after the ruling, so the authority may have been partly restored later; this post-dates the removal and does not contradict it.[5]
Context. The post's referent 'it' refers to the power to prosecute within the attorney general's office, which the claim reflects faithfully.
Sources
5 sources: 1 primary, 1 tier 1, 3 not rated
- 1Paxton Asks Court of Criminal Appeals to Reverse Its Decision Stripping OAG of Authority to Stop Election Fraudtexasattorneygeneral.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Texas attorney general appeals ruling he can't prosecute election fraudthehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 3Texas court confirms the AG can't unilaterally prosecute election casestexastribune.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4State of Texas: Ruling sparks Paxton’s push to oust conservative judges on Court of Criminal Appealskxan.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Ken Paxton has tried to overturn tight elections. He’s in one of his own. - The Boston Globebostonglobe.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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