Perry lashes Trump for backing Paxton’s ‘one-day’ deal

Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry attacked President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state’s U.S. Senate runoff, tying the move to Paxton’s role in a Waco child sex abuse case where prosecutors initially pursued a plea t

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who served as President Donald Trump’s secretary of energy during the president’s first term, did not wait long to turn Trump’s latest intervention in Texas into a political weapon.

On Tuesday, Trump stepped into the U.S. Senate race in Texas between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton and Cornyn will meet in a runoff on Tuesday after neither candidate received a majority of the votes in March’s Republican primary. The winner of that runoff will then face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in November.

Trump endorsed Paxton.

Perry’s reaction landed on the question that seems to dominate Texas politics right now: whether Paxton’s past is enough to imperil the seat for Republicans. Paxton has faced criticism from conservative pundits who have acknowledged the attorney general has “baggage” that could actually put the seat in jeopardy.

Perry’s blast pointed to the attorney general’s record. which includes an impeachment approved by the GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives for abusing his office. The impeachment articles allege Paxton used his office to assist a donor. Nate Paul. who was the subject of a federal investigation. The articles also say that at Paxton’s behest. Paul employed a woman who was having an affair with the attorney general.

But the moment that Perry chose to amplify was a separate case tied to Paxton’s prosecutorial decisions. On Thursday, Perry weighed in on X and quote-tweeted a Texas Tribune article about Paxton cutting what Perry described as a lenient deal with an admitted child molester.

“Ken Paxton initially offered a plea deal to a MAN WHO ADMITTED TO MOLESTING a child to serve only ONE DAY IN JAIL,” Perry wrote.

In the Waco case described in the linked reporting, Paxton’s office took over a matter involving Adam Hoffman, a Waco attorney charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child. Hoffman went to trial last year. The case ended in a hung jury, and prosecutors decided to cut a deal after that.

Prosecutors defended the arrangement. writing that the child—whose age was not mentioned in the plea agreement—wanted the ordeal to be over. “The child emphasized that he preferred to move on with his life and prioritize his mental and emotional health. ” prosecutors Brenda Cantu and Dorian Cotlar wrote.

The judge overseeing the case was incredulous. Judge Roy Sparkman. a visiting judge who previously served on the bench as a Republican. said during an April 16 hearing. according to a transcript: “One day. Seriously?. Somebody has to sell me on the wisdom of it.” Sparkman later insisted on a 60-day jail sentence.

The victim’s mother initially agreed to an early version of the plea deal in court. but later told reporters she now disagrees with the outcome. In an interview. she said. “We were put in an impossible situation.” She added. “How do you trust the prosecution to go back to a case that they want to plead out when they’re the ones that are supposed to fight for it. and they don’t want to do it?”.

The Texas Tribune and The Texas Newsroom examined hundreds of pages of court documents related to the Waco case and conducted more than a dozen interviews. including with people close to the case as well as experts who were not involved in it but reviewed some of the details. Those experts said the outcome reflects the difficult nature and often-painful reality of prosecuting complex child abuse cases.

At the hearing, Sparkman also addressed what he believed was a recurring approach. He said Paxton’s office appeared to have a “penchant” for doling out light sentences after mistrials via hung juries. saying: “I’m seeing a pattern here that is concerning me.” He continued: “If they get a mistrial. all of a sudden it’s just a little misdemeanor with a slap on the hand.”.

Taken together. Perry’s argument is built on two parallel political pressures: the president’s endorsement of Paxton in a race that could decide a Texas seat in November. and the question of whether Paxton’s record—both in Washington-minded power battles and in courtroom decisions—should be a liability in a state already bracing for a tough general-election fight.

Rick Perry Donald Trump Ken Paxton Texas Senate runoff John Cornyn James Talarico impeachment Nate Paul Adam Hoffman Waco case plea deal Roy Sparkman Brenda Cantu Dorian Cotlar