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State Rep. James Talarico has made the relationship between Attorney General Ken Paxton and a man named Adam Hoffman a key part of his campaign. As Paxton and Talarico face off for a Senate seat in November’s election, their campaigns continue to trade blows.
Talarico released an advertisement about Paxton’s association with Hoffman, a relationship the state representative continues to capitalize on. Talarico’s ad knocks Paxton, saying “we don’t need any more pedophile protectors in Washington.”
The relationship between Paxton and Hoffman traces back to the attorney general’s longtime donor and friend, Nate Paul, whom Paxton was infamously accused of misusing his office to help. In fact, Paul and Paxton’s relationship resulted in Republicans voting to impeach the attorney general, from which he was acquitted three years ago.
Paul and Hoffman used the same defense attorney, Gerry Morris.
Who is Adam Hoffman?
Talarico’s ad says Hoffman’s lawyers represented one of Paxton’s biggest donors, which resulted in the “Epstein-style sweetheart deal.”
Hoffman, a 49-year-old former Waco attorney, was charged with repeated sexual abuse of a young boy. Paxton’s office initially offered a plea deal that let Hoffman plead guilty to two misdemeanors and serve only one day in jail.
The case ended with a mistrial, as the jury was hung and the victim refused to testify another time. The plea deal offered Hoffman time served plus one day, given he admitted to sexual assault of the child. The plea documents did not include, however, the age of the victim, which means he is not required to register as a sex offender in Texas.
After the judge was not impressed with the original deal, prosecutors added a lifetime protective order, barring Hoffman from any contact with the victim, to the deal. He would also be required to surrender his law license.
Hoffman was released from the McLennan County Jail on May 25. Talarico was not the only one elevating the case in their campaign, as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who Paxton defeated in the primary, issued multiple statements saying Paxton was too lenient with Hoffman.
“It is important to note that the predators who commit these crimes tend to repeat them over and over again, until stopped,” Cornyn said in a post on X. “Paxton could have stopped this one, but instead cut him loose to reoffend over and over again, putting more children at risk.”
Tired of being used
Talarico held multiple press conferences back in July where he raised questions about his opponent’s handling of the case. He called on Paxton to “release the Hoffman files. That same month, however, the family of the victim spoke out against Talarico using their case as a campaign platform, saying they were “tired of being used.”
“We have not given any statement to Talarico. We have not spoken to him. We are tired of being used in this election. We are tired of lies being told by both Paxton & Talarico, tired of the divide and just tired,” the family said in a since-deleted post on social media.
Paxton’s response
State Rep. Jeff Leach wrote a letter to the attorney general’s office questioning the way the case was handled. He wrote Paxton “owes all Texans an answer.”
“To me and to many Texans — and certainly to child sexual abuse and assault victims and their families — the plea deal General Paxton agreed to (serious felony crimes reduced to misdemeanor charges, only 30 days in county jail, no mandatory registration as a sex offender and no permanent loss of Hoffman’s law license) is incomprehensible,” Leach wrote in a post on X.
The attorney general’s office responded with a letter detailing the case and the trial results. The letter said the office was prepared to retry the case to seek a conviction, but the victim would not voluntarily testify at a second trial.
“In light of the child’s decision, there would only have been one path forward for a second prosecution: subpoenaing the child, forcing him to re-face his abuser, and subjecting him to a second grueling cross-examination,” Assistant Attorneys General Brenda Cantu and Dorian Cotlar said in the letter.
They said a second trial would have retraumatized the victim, and without their testimony, the plea deal was the best option.
“Although our office had no way to prove the elements necessary to secure a felony conviction without the child’s testimony, we did secure jail time for his abuser and admission to a lesser offense,” the letter said.
