Two Top Aides Resign Amid Probe Into Misuse of Hotel Rooms by Texas Attorney General's Office

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The Texas Attorney General's office is under scrutiny after agency employees reallocated taxpayer-funded hotel rooms meant for state employees to donors and other private citizens, some of whom failed to pay for the stays. Two senior officials involved in the incident, Chief Financial Officer Michele Price and Chief of Staff Lesley French, have since resigned from the office.

Why it matters

The hotel room scandal raises concerns about potential misuse of public funds and improper influence by political donors within the Texas Attorney General's office. The investigation comes as Attorney General Ken Paxton faces a contentious runoff election for the GOP Senate nomination against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

The details

The agency paid over $20,000 for a block of 10 nonrefundable hotel rooms at the Courtyard Marriott in Washington, D.C. for employees attending last year's inauguration of President Donald Trump and Supreme Court arguments. When a winter storm prevented some of the travelers from getting to Washington, agency employees identified private citizens who wanted the rooms and agreed to pay out of pocket for them. The list of private citizens who took the rooms included major Paxton donors, a controversial Albanian businessman, and the chair of the Albanian Republican Party. State Sen. Angela Paxton, Ken Paxton's wife, also took one of the rooms at her own expense. The agency did not follow proper procedures in transferring the rooms, and when two of the private citizens did not end up using their rooms, their names were attached to the charges, which the agency then had to pay.

• In June, officials from the state comptroller's office notified the attorney general's office they were opening a 'routine post-payment audit' to review payroll, purchasing and travel expenditures.
• In October, two of Paxton's senior aides, Chief Financial Officer Michele Price and Chief of Staff Lesley French, began emailing about the travel discrepancies.
• Days after the March 3 primary election, the state comptroller's office reopened the audit.
• The next day, Lesley French resigned. A few days later, Michele Price resigned as well.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The state comptroller's office has reopened its audit of the Texas Attorney General's office's payroll, purchasing, and travel expenditures in light of the hotel room scandal.