Hoffman files – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico renewed his attack on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after Paxton’s office offered a Waco man a plea deal in a child sex abuse case, calling for the release of “all” communications tied to how the agreement wa
On the steps of the McLennan County Courthouse in Waco, James Talarico pointed to the center of his campaign’s latest argument: a plea deal his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, helped bring about in a case involving a young boy.
Talarico, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, demanded that Paxton release communications from his office showing how the deal came together. “If there’s anything that all Texans can agree on — Democrats and Republicans. progressive and conservatives — it’s that no one. not even the attorney general of Texas. should be able to cover up crimes against children. ” he said.
The deal required 49-year-old Adam Dean Hoffman to serve 30 days in jail. admit to molesting the victim and surrender his law license. But Hoffman did not have to register as a sex offender. The lack of sex-offender registration sparked backlash locally and later across the nation as the case drew wider attention.
The courtroom path to the final agreement was also at the heart of Talarico’s critique. Roy Sparkman, the visiting judge in the case who previously served on the bench as a Republican, rejected an initial deal that would have allowed Hoffman to serve just one day in jail.
Last month. reporting by The Texas Tribune. The Texas Newsroom and KWBU uncovered trial transcript material and other court records describing how the case ended in a mistrial and how the victim refused to testify for a second time. The reporting said prosecutors. if they wanted to pursue a conviction. were left with an offer-deal option or forcing the boy to return to court against his will using a subpoena.
Talarico’s news conference came after multiple figures—including the mother of the victim and some Republican lawmakers—raised concerns that the final agreement was too lenient. Sparkman also pointed to another case, which was taken over by Paxton’s office after a local prosecutor was recused. In that matter. Sparkman believed an overly generous deal was offered. raising what the judge saw as the specter of a pattern.
In court documents tied to the Hoffman resolution. Assistant Attorneys General Brenda Cantu and Dorian Cotlar wrote to a state lawmaker on May 15. They said their “difficult decision” to reach a plea deal “was made entirely in the best interest of the child involved. ” and they wrote that the child had told them he “preferred to move on with his life” and spare himself the continued trauma of having to face his abuser in court. Cantu also said in court that she had nothing to do with the other AG case.
Paxton’s campaign responded sharply when Talarico returned to the issue.
In a statement. Paxton campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy called it “disgusting” that Talarico wanted a child victim to be forced to be in the same room as his abuser. Cercy said. “Every time James Talarico chooses to bring this case up he is intentionally re-traumatizing the child victim for personal gain. ” adding that “OAG prosecutors have already released information on this. but Talarico cares more about turning a child victim into a political pawn than the truth. The bottom line is that we stand with the child victim.”.
The fight over Paxton’s handling of the case is also part of a larger political backdrop. Sen. John Cornyn had hammered Paxton during the last few months of the Republican primary runoff. running advertisements that decried how the attorney general “failed to protect” trafficking victims and warning “he will fail us.” Cornyn lost to Paxton by nearly 28 points.
Talarico. for his part. immediately took up the same line of attack on social media and in public speech after the May 26 primary runoff. But Thursday’s news conference stayed focused on the Hoffman case. That narrow focus signaled Talarico believes the story can cut through with voters beyond party lines.
His campaign also moved quickly after Cornyn’s defeat narrative faded: within two days of the May 26 primary runoff. Talarico’s campaign posted an advertisement about the Hoffman case composed entirely of TV news reports. The ad ended with a voiceover of a reporter saying. “We still don’t know why Hoffman was able to cut this sentence short.”.
At the courthouse. Talarico likened the plea agreement to an “Epstein-style sweetheart deal. ” referencing the controversial 2008 nonprosecution agreement federal prosecutors reached with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He called on Paxton to “release the Hoffman files,” and a sign beneath him carried that phrase.
Talarico defined those files as “all text messages, all emails, all documents, all internal memos relating to the Adam Hoffman case.” The Tribune has requested this information from the attorney general’s office.
Talarico also called the deal “corrupt,” though he did not provide evidence that prosecutors acted illegally or that the decision was influenced by improper outside pressure.
The mother of the victim added to the pressure in a statement quoted by Talarico. saying her son’s case was “treated differently” because Hoffman’s attorney also represented Nate Paul. Paxton’s friend and campaign donor who was at the heart of the failed impeachment case against the attorney general. Paxton has been accused of taking bribes from Paul. alleging that he offered Paul favors using the power of his office in exchange for a job for Paxton’s mistress and expensive home renovations.
Talarico framed that chain of relationships as part of what he called a larger pattern. “This is a tale as old as time,” he said. “Powerful, well-connected people covering up for other powerful, well-connected people.”
He pressed the question directly, saying, “What is the connection with his lawyer and Nate Paul? I think Texans have the right to get answers to these questions, and that’s something I’m going to keep pushing for over the course of this campaign.”
The defense’s response has been blunt. Gerry Morris. the defense attorney. told The Tribune/Texas Newsroom/KWBU last month that he was baffled by suggestions that his client received special treatment. and that misdemeanor plea deals are not uncommon in child sex abuse cases. Morris is well-known for representing a Branch Davidian survivor after the 1993 Waco siege, and he has almost 40 years of experience. He also said he has represented a wide range of clients. including recently a University of Texas at Austin lecturer arrested and fired after attending a pro-Palestine protest on campus.
In an earlier interview. Morris said. “I have never met Paxton. spoken to Paxton or communicated with him directly. indirectly in any manner about this case or any other case.” He added that anyone claiming otherwise is “a politician lying to the public to try to con people into voting for him when he’s afraid the truth won’t do that.”.
Morris reiterated that position Thursday. He said he didn’t think the lawyers in Paxton’s office knew that he had represented Paul. He also said, “Ken Paxton had nothing to do with the negotiations in this case.”
“It’s just an absolute, total falsehood that my representation of Nate Paul had anything to do with Adam Hoffman’s case, and I wish somebody would print that because this just keeps going on and on,” Morris added.
The courtroom dispute. the public backlash over the lack of sex-offender registration. and the call for “all text messages. all emails. all documents. all internal memos” now sit at the center of the political contest for Talarico. For Paxton’s team. the focus is the victim and what Talarico is demanding: communications already released. and a refusal to force a child back into proximity with the abuser.
As Talarico asked voters for patience with his campaign’s push for disclosure, both sides kept returning to a single fault line: what the final agreement meant, who influenced it, and why the public still wants to see what Paxton’s office says it did.
James Talarico Ken Paxton Adam Dean Hoffman Waco plea deal child sex abuse Hoffmann files Roy Sparkman Brenda Cantu Dorian Cotlar Madison Cercy Gerry Morris Nate Paul Epstein-style sweetheart deal