Texas Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in TX

Scandal Categories
Texas Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
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Van TaylorFmr. U.S. Representative

814k
3/02/22
Engaged in a yearlong extramarital affair with a woman who was formerly married to an ISIS terrorist and paid her $5,000 to keep quiet about it


According to a statement in which he admitted to the affair and announced he was ending his reelection campaign
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Michael McCaulU.S. Representative [R-TX]

92k
11/13/24
Consumed too much alcohol and then took some sleep medication while waiting for his flight at a local airport resulting in him missing his flight and being detained by police for public intoxication


According to charging documents filed by local police
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Ronny JacksonU.S. Representative [R-TX]

67k
8/15/23
Was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed by police officers after refusing repeating commands to not interfere with emergency responders helping a 15-year-old girl experiencing seizures during which he screamed one was a "f*cking full-on d*ck!" who "better recalculate, motherf*cker!" while also hypocritically promising he will "ALWAYS stand by our country's police officers" which apparently only applies when it is politically convenient for him


According to bodycam footage released by local police

5/23/22
Spent $3,147.06 in campaign funds to pay for an extravagant dinner at a private social and dining club that the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics reported was likely a personal expense and not a fundraising event as he claimed


According to news reports from credible media outlets
Used $1,929.07 in campaign funds to pay for 11 months' worth of dues to gain "unlimited access" to a private social and dining club located in Texas


According to a report released by the nonpartisan House Ethics Committee

3/02/21
Told a female White House medical staff subordinate he'd like to see her tattoos unobstructed of clothing and commented to a male subordinate that she had "great t*ts" and a "nice ass"


According to a Defense Department Inspector General review reported on by CNN
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Daniel RodimerFmr. U.S. Rep Candidate

3/08/24
Physically struck a victim and had to complete a six-week anger management course in order to have his charges dropped


3/07/24
Punched and strangled his victim so severely it caused multiple brain bleeds resulting in his eventual death several days later


According to charging documents filed by local police

10/08/19
Punched a man in the head outside a local nightclub


Allegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
"Sucker punched" a bartender in the face after he informed Rodimer that other patrons were looking up his girlfriend's skirt

Physically assaulted someone at a local Waffle House restaurant


According to an exclusive report by The Associated Press
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James HarrisFmr. U.S. Rep Candidate

3/10/22
Stole a trailer's worth of his competitor's campaign signs and was caught red-handed by two of them who witnessed it


According to charging documents filed by local police
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11/30/17
Had sex multiple times in one day inside his political office in rural Texas with a woman he met on Facebook while also being married


According to an exclusive report by local radio WBAP in Texas

11/22/17
Had sex with a woman who wasn't his wife twice -- once in Washington, D.C. and another time in Texas -- and continued to communicate with her over sexualized text messages, videos and voicemails for five more years


According to an exclusive report by The Washington Post

11/22/17
Sent pictures of himself masturbating to three women -- two whom he had an extramarital affair with -- and threatened to sic the Capitol Police on one of the women he was involved with if she went public with his naked pictures


According to a recorded phone call between Barton and one woman he had an affair with exclusively reported by The Washington Post

11/22/17
Preached the importance of adhering to Christian "family values" like being faithful to your wife but had affairs with 2 different women and sent naked pictures of himself to a third


According to an exclusive report by The Washington Post
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Brad NamdarFmr. U.S. Rep Candidate

2/15/22
Hired a professional escort for sex on two separate occasions and refused to pay her after the second time they had sex while also being married


Allegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
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12/04/17
Openly talked with a male aide about "sexual fantasies" and "wet dreams" he had about his female communications director Lauren Greene and fired her after shortly after she filed a formal complaint and then secretly paid her $84,000 in taxpayer funds from a secretive "Office of Compliance" account after she agreed to drop a federal lawsuit she filed against him


12/04/17
Settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with a confidentiality agreement for $84,000 using a secret taxpayer funded account which kept it from the public for years


12/01/17
Routinely "drank to excess” at Capitol Hill functions so much that his staff felt they had to be on "red head patrol" in order to "keep him out of trouble" because he would regularly say sexually improper things to female staff and lobbyists when he was drunk


According to an exclusive report by Politico
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3/16/17
Illegally spent $1.25 million dollars in funds meant for charity on campaign and personal expenses including hot air balloon rides and a new dishwasher


Allegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
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Kevin BradyFmr. U.S. Representative

10/11/05
Smelled of alcohol and failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over for a malfunctioning tail light


According to a police report filed by local authorities
Texas Republican Executive Branch Scandals
Texas Republican Judge Scandals
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Guy WilliamsFmr. State Judge [R-TX]

1/04/22
Illegally passed through security at a local county courthouse because he felt he should be granted access without having to go through a security check, telling a judge she had "two (2) choices, let me pass or arrest me," of which officers promptly chose the latter


10/07/19
Shouted profanities at first responders who were assisting him after a car he was a passenger in crashed into two palm trees and soon after passed out in the back of a patrol car presumably because he was drunk


11/04/17
Pointed a gun at the driver of a car he was dangerously tailing and tried to run her off the road as he zoomed past her


According to charging documents filed by local police
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Russ CaseyFmr. Justice of the Peace

1/11/18
Forged more than 100 signatures on a candidate petition to ensure he could get on the ballot for the 2018 Republican primary


He pled guilty to tampering with govenment records and was sentenced to five years of probation

5/16/17
Coerced a subordinate into giving him oral sex multiple times -- once while he wore his black judge's robe -- and to have sex with him two times and would lash out her as a “horrible court manager” if she ever refused his advances, which she didn't do often because he was her boss, while being married the entire time


According to a federal civil lawsuit filed by the alleged victim

5/16/17
Frequently exposed himself to a subordinate at his courthouse offices over a five-year period


According to a federal civil lawsuit filed by the alleged victim

5/16/17
Exposed his penis to a subordinate cornered in her locked office and slammed the door back shut when she tried to flee and then threatened that she better think twice before reporting him because he's the only person standing between her and the unemployment line


According to a federal civil lawsuit filed by the alleged victim
Texas Republican State Legislator Scandals
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Dade Phelan House Speaker [R-TX]
44k
5/19/23
Repeatedly slurred his speech and swayed back and forth as he led official proceedings as the Texas Speaker of the House in a way fellow Republican and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton described as "debilitating intoxication"


According to reports by local and state media
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Vanessa TijerinaFmr. State Sen. Candidate

12/01/22
Was arrested for suspected DUI after calling 911 on herself thinking she was involved in a crash which police determined was not true


6/11/20
Refused to obey repeated police commands to roll down her window while parked at a local restaurant because they smelled a strong odor of marijuana inside her car and suspected she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was caught with multiple "crack pipes" in her car that her young child was also a passenger in


According to charging documents filed by local police
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Charles SchwertnerState Senator [R-TX]

2/07/23
Swerved in and out of his lane for an extended period of time around 1am and was arrested for refusing a breathalyzer after police observed him slurring his speech with a "strong odor of alcoholic beverages on his breath"

According to a police report filed by local officials

9/26/18
Sent unsolicited nude pictures of himself in the shower and texted "I just really want to f*ck you" to a graduate student he met at a campus event while also being married with three children

According to a complaint filed by the alleged victim first reported by The Austin American-Statesmen
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Bryan SlatonFmr. State Representative
11k
11k 
5/09/23
Served so much alcohol to two underage legislative aides and a 21-year-old intern that one vomited and the other two were so dizzy that they had "split vision"


4/14/23
Had unprotected sex with an inebriated 19-year-old he had provided alcohol to which a Republican-led investigation determined was tantamount to rape because his victim "could not effectively consent to intercourse" due to the influence of alcohol and also because she very likely would have said no as it was her first time having sex and later took her to the drugstore so should could purchase emergency contraception while also being a married "family values" lawmaker who routinely denounced the so-called "grooming" of children


According to a final report by the Texas House General Investigating Committee which recommended his expulsion from the body
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Aaron PeñaFmr. State Representative
6k
9/16/22
Forcibly kissed and groped a congressional intern and ignored her pleas to stop after creating a situation where he was able to get her alone in his car


According to an allegation filed by the alleged victim and reported by mainstream media
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Frederick FrazierState Representative

6/25/22
Impersonated a city compliance officer on at least two occasions so he could order people to remove campaign signs his opponent had displayed at local businesses while also portraying himself as a fierce defender of law and order


According to charging documents filed by local police
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Charlie GreenState Representative

5/27/23
Accused Texas AG Ken Paxton of personally calling and threatening "several" Texas State Rep's with "political consequences" if they vote to impeach him for corruption


According to a speech delivered by Rep. Green in the Texas State House
Texas Republican Finance Official Scandals
Texas Republican Mayor Scandals
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James MontgomeryFmr. Mayor [R-TX]

6/03/23
Solicited sex with who he thought was a 15-years-old girl over the internet and traveled to meet her where he was arrested by undercover officers who posed as the young girl


According to charging documents filed by local officials
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Matt McIlravyFmr. Mayor [R-TX]

6/22/22
Solicited sex with who he thought was a 12-year-old girl but was instead an undercover police officer over a series of private messages on the internet while also being a married father of two boys


According to charging documents filed by local police
Texas Republican City Official Scandals
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Brad BensonFmr. City Council Candidate

11/07/23
Possessed felony media involving children which resulted in his arrest by local authorities


Allegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
Other Texas Republican Scandals
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Tony YochamFmr. Chief of Police

1/09/24
Sexually abused a child multiple times before he was caught and arrested while also being a married father of five children


Allegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
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Walt SmithCommissioner [R-TX]

9/07/22
Ran a red light and slammed his pickup truck into a larger box truck at 3am causing a crash that dragged their vehicles for several hundred feet after which he failed a videotaped field sobriety test during which he was swaying, struggled to do a one-leg stand and was observed having a strong odor of alcohol by officers on scene


According to a police report filed by local officials

2/16/22
Urinated next to a truck parked outside a local bar moments after he was caught on video inside the bar swaying and having difficulty walking straight presumably because he had too much to drink


Allegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
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Richard RoachFmr. District Attorney

6/26/06
Routinely stole methamphetamine and other strong narcotics from police evidence lockers and openly injected himself with drugs in front of his office secretary while also being a District Attorney who was a fervent prosecutor of drug offenses who secured very harsh drug sentences

He pled guilty to multiple felony drug charges and was sentenced to 18 years in prison
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Jack StickFmr. Conservative Lawyer

9/28/14
Drove erratically and was pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence, argued with the officer and refused to submit to a breathalyzer or field sobriety tests upon which he was arrested for drunk driving


According to charging documents filed by local police