MRT 10/8-9/25 (free): WSJ Reports on Ken Paxton’s Millions in Wealth Accumulated as AG // Roberson Execution Paused // TX Job Growth Slows // RPT to Consider 10 Censures on Sat

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BY: @MattMackowiak 

WEDNESDAY 10/8/2025 || THURSDAY 10/9/2025 || FRIDAY 10/10/2025

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• TOP NEWS  

“Texas appeals court again pauses execution of Robert Roberson in shaken baby case,” AP’s Juan A. Lozano -- “Texas’ top criminal court on Thursday again paused the execution of Robert Roberson, just days before he was set to become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

This was the third execution date that Roberson’s lawyers have been able to stay since 2016, including one scheduled nearly a year ago due to an unprecedented intervention from a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers who believe he is innocent.

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The latest execution stay was granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Roberson had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 16 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis.

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Since his first execution date more than nine years ago, Roberson’s lawyers have filed multiple petitions with state and federal appeals courts, as well as with the U.S. Supreme Court, to stop his execution. They have also asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to intervene, as part of their efforts to secure Roberson a new trial.

Will ‘junk science’ law secure Roberson a new trial?

“He is actually innocent,” Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s attorneys, told reporters after the court ruling. “I would like to prove that and get him home one day.”

Roberson’s attorneys have argued his then-undiagnosed autism helped convict him as authorities and medical personnel felt he didn’t act like a concerned parent because his flat affect was seen as a sign of guilt. He was diagnosed with autism in 2018.

The court granted the stay based on Texas’ 2013 junk science law, which allows a person convicted of a crime to seek relief if the evidence used against them is no longer credible. It cited its October 2024 ruling that overturned the conviction of another man, Andrew Roark, in another shaken baby case in Dallas. Roberson’s lawyers argue that the two cases are indistinguishable.

The appeals court sent Roberson’s case back to his trial court in East Texas for review to determine if he should get a new trial.

Matthew Bowman, Nikki’s half-brother, said he and his family are disappointed by Thursday’s ruling, and that they think Roberson should be executed. Bowman told The Associated Press he believes the evidence shows Roberson caused Nikki’s injuries by repeatedly hitting her.

“In my opinion, he’s the only one that could have done it that night. So we’re hoping that the execution comes back,” he said.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which is seeking Roberson’s execution, has not responded to an email requesting comment.

Appeals court focuses on similar shaken baby syndrome case

Roberson’s lawyers had requested the stay based new legal and scientific developments and expert analyses that indicate Nikki’s death was caused by illness and accident, not abuse. They included a joint statement from 10 independent pathologists who said the medical examiner’s autopsy report, which concluded Nikki died from blunt force head injuries, was “not reliable.”

Roberson’s attorneys also alleged judicial misconduct, saying the judge who oversaw his trial hadn’t disclosed he previously authorized the circumvention of Roberson’s parental rights and allowed Nikki’s grandparents to remove her from life support.

The appeals court denied both those claims and instead said it was granting the stay to review issues raised by Roark’s case on its “own initiative.”

In granting Roark a new trial, the appeals court found that the science had changed to undermine the prosecution’s theory of a case involving shaken baby syndrome, and that Roark likely would not have been convicted under the “evolved scientific evidence.” The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office subsequently dropped the charges against Roark.

“I know that Roark changed the legal landscape in Texas and should mean relief for Robert,” Sween said.

Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence, telling The Associated Press in an interview last week from death row in Livingston, Texas, that he never abused his daughter.

“I never shook her or hit her,” he said.

The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is hurt through shaking or some other violent impact, like being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.

Some authorities believe Nikki was a victim of child abuse

Prosecutors at Roberson’s 2003 trial, as well as the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, have argued that Roberson hit Nikki and violently shook her, causing severe head trauma. They said she was a victim of child abuse and died from injuries related to shaken baby syndrome.

In a Sept. 26 op-ed in The Dallas Morning News, three pediatricians, including two with the Yale School of Medicine, said they reviewed the case and “are convinced that Nikki was a victim of child abuse.”

Shaken baby syndrome has come under scrutiny in recent years; some lawyers and medical experts say the diagnosis has wrongly sent people to prison. Prosecutors and medical societies say it remains valid.

Roberson’s supporters include liberal and ultraconservative lawmakers, Texas GOP megadonor and conservative activist Doug Deason, bestselling author John Grisham, and Brian Wharton, the former police detective who helped put together the case against him.

GOP state Rep. Brian Harrison, one of the more conservative lawmakers in the Texas Legislature, praised the stay.

“For over two decades, Mr. Robert Roberson has never, not once, been afforded due process and he has never had a fair trial,” Harrison told reporters on Thursday.” AP

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• TOP NEWS

“Cracks emerge in Texas’ economy as job growth slows” DMN ($)

“Colleagues recall that he spent 41 years practicing journalism ‘the right way’” DMN ($)

• 2025  

“The Silence of the Shams” Austin Independent

• 2026  

“How Ken Paxton, a Rising MAGA Star, Got Rich as a Texas Politician,” Wall Street Journal’s Elizabeth Findley and Mark Maremont -- “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton went from being a middle-class lawyer to a multimillionaire during his two decades on a public official’s salary, according to thousands of pages of previously unreported documents that shed new light on the personal finances of one of the Republican Party’s most-watched midterm candidates.

Paxton, who entered state government in 2003 with a modest income and few assets, by 2018 told a lender he had amassed a net worth of about $5.5 million, not including millions in assets he and his wife had previously moved into a blind trust.

The following year, Paxton reaped an additional $2.2 million gain—never previously disclosed—from his investment in a local company with a lucrative Texas state contract, according to the documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, which include Paxton’s tax returns and bank statements.

Paxton’s accumulation of wealth has become a key campaign issue as he vies to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in a hotly contested Republican primary set for March 3, 2026. The race is crucial to Republicans’ hopes to hold on to their Senate majority. Paxton is popular with the party’s base, but national GOP strategists fear his nomination could cost them in a general election.

Cornyn has cast suspicion on Paxton’s finances and highlighted the attorney general’s failures to fully disclose them. Paxton has sought to paint Cornyn as a Washington insider. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt said Monday he is joining the Republican primary field as well.

Paxton, 62 years old, became a rising star in the MAGA world, winning support for his battles on issues such as abortion, border security and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

But allegations of corruption and other impropriety have surfaced repeatedly during Paxton’s career. The Republican-majority Texas House voted to impeach him in 2023 over allegations that he abused his office to aid a campaign donor, which he denied. The Texas Senate acquitted and returned him to office after a two-week trial.

A spokesman for Paxton called this article a “bogus hit piece” given to The Wall Street Journal by Paxton’s political enemies.

The documents reviewed by the Journal were produced via subpoena by banks and other parties for the impeachment trial. Most were never entered into evidence and haven’t been previously disclosed. The documents include seven years of Paxton’s tax returns; personal financial statements prepared by Paxton and his wife for a series of property loans; personal bank records; the bank records of his blind trust; and text messages between Paxton, his wife and the trustee of the blind trust.

Angela Paxton, a Texas state senator, filed for divorce from Paxton in July, citing adultery as the reason for ending 38 years of marriage.

Angela Paxton declined to comment, via a spokesman.

Paxton in 2015 put his assets into a blind trust, a tool used by politicians to avoid conflicts of interest by separating them from management of their money. Although he said in public filings that he would no longer know what assets were in his trust, the text messages show a closer involvement, including in one instance his trustee texting Paxton updates on stock trades.

Making a fortune

Before Paxton first ran for public office in 2002, his only listed assets were a handful of stocks and a house with a mortgage, with a combined value of less than $175,000, according to an analysis of his 2001 state financial-disclosure form. At the time, he was an attorney and his wife, a former public-school teacher, was homeschooling their four children. Both came from modest upbringings.

Over the next dozen years, as Paxton was re-elected to the state House and then the Texas Senate, he disclosed owning interests in more partnerships and private companies in annual ethics filings. It is unclear from the filings where the money came from to buy them or how much they were worth.

Texas’ annual ethics filings don’t require public officials to disclose their total income, net worth or the value of holdings in business entities. Paxton previously has taken the position that assets within the blind trust don’t need to be disclosed.

Paxton provided more information to his banks, the documents show. In 2015, his first year as attorney general, a personal financial statement he provided to a bank pegged the couple’s total net worth at $5.4 million, roughly 40% of it from investments that they had moved into the blind trust earlier that year.

On that year’s tax return, he and his wife reported earning a combined $161,000 from their salaries as a state employee and a Christian school guidance counselor. They reported about $200,000 in additional income, mostly from investments.

A $2.2 million windfall arrived in 2019. The gain derived from Paxton’s 2004 investment in a police video technology company, later named WatchGuard, that he had shifted into the blind trust. Paxton, who reported investing about $300,000 in WatchGuard, cashed out with a huge gain when the company was bought by Motorola Solutions in 2019 for about $250 million.

The investment had drawn scrutiny over the years in Texas, sparked by ethics concerns about a lucrative contract the company obtained in 2006 from the Texas Department of Public Safety while Paxton was an investor and a state legislator. Paxton said in 2008 that he wasn’t aware the company had a state contract.

Two years after the big gain, the Paxtons and their blind trust went on a 10-month real-estate buying binge, spending almost $3.5 million on residential properties in Florida, Oklahoma, Utah and Hawaii. They took out mortgages to pay for some of the properties.

Last year Paxton bought an $800,000 condo, at a resort in Ivins, Utah, and transferred it into the trust in March 2025, according to public records. The Paxtons now own at least 11 residential properties around the U.S. with an assessed value of $7.5 million.

Blind trust

The blind trust the Paxtons voluntarily established in 2015, called the Esther Blind Trust, is structured to block the couple from knowledge of their investments. Its governing documents say that the trustee must act without providing them information other than what is narrowly required for trust maintenance.

Paxton publicly affirmed he had no knowledge of trust investments in his 2015 state ethics filing. He told one of his banks that neither he nor his wife “have knowledge of the current investments.”

But the text messages with the trust’s trustee, Charles Loper III, show otherwise.

In March 2020, Loper texted Ken Paxton a list of eight stock buys worth a combined $618,000. The trust’s bank-account records show it had made the buys the day before.

Legal experts called the texting of the stock trades a potential violation of ethics statutes defining blind trusts as blind only if the trust is managed without consultation.

“That would be an occasion in which a blind trust is blind in name only,” Texas trust attorney Brad Wiewel said.

Loper didn’t respond to requests for comment.

In the summer of 2020, Angela Paxton texted Loper: “Please keep me informed of any financial actions initiated by Ken and don’t assume I am aware even if he tells you I consent.”

Loper is a close friend of the Paxtons from church who had gifted Ken Paxton $20,000 for his legal defense. Texas law requires a trustee to be a “disinterested party.”” WSJ ($)

“Why a push to kick Republican lawmakers off the ballot is dividing the Texas GOP” SAEN ($)

“How the Texas GOP’s bid to block lawmakers from the ballot defies a century of court precedent” Texas Tribune

“The 5 hottest Republican Congressional primaries building in Texas” SAEN ($)

• TEXANS IN DC  

“Ted Cruz Wants to Make It Easier to Sue the Government for Censorship” WSJ ($)

• NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE 

> DMN: “We surveyed 90 trans Texans. Most said they’re living in fear and weighing a move“ DMN

> DMN: “Why many Texas Republican leaders are concerned about gender transitions“ DMN

> HOU CHRON: “Texas officials investigate group’s plan to ‘take over’ Loving County“ HOU CHRON

> TX TRIB: “As energy finds Texas young conservatives, U.S. Senate hopefuls make their pitch“ TX TRIB

> SAEN: “Ken Paxton urges closed GOP primaries, will not defend state in lawsuit“ SAEN

> FWST: “DFW airport delays ahead? TSA agents ‘sick and tired’ of shutdown work without pay“ FWST

> TX TRIB: “Dallas County GOP’s push to hand-count 2026 ballots could upend voting for Democrats“ TX TRIB

> EP TIMES: “Texas senator questioned over conversations with controversial redistricting map creator“ EP TIMES

> MY RGV: “Hidalgo County Judge Cortez emphasizes RioPlex at first address in a decade“ MY RGV

> TPR: “New Braunfels Pride Fest changes venues after complaints by state representative“ TPR

> THE TEXAN: “Texas Comptroller’s Office Undergoes Policy, Operational Changes in Kelly Hancock’s First 100 Days“ THE TEXAN

> EP TIMES: “Texas Democrats urge Gov. Greg Abbott to withdraw Guard troops from Illinois, Oregon“ EP TIMES

> THE TEXAN: “U.S. Senate Confirms Eight Texans in Trump Cabinet 107-Nominee Backlog“ THE TEXAN

> SAEN: “Texas National Guard troops sent to Chicago aren’t getting paid“ SAEN

> FWST: “Girl covered in wounds escapes home, leading to arrest of two sisters, TX cops say“ FWST

> HOU CHRON: “I was a juror in Robert Roberson’s ‘shaken baby’ trial. We were wrong.“ HOU CHRON

> SAEN: “Texas GOP Reps. push back on anti-DEI cuts to San Antonio universities“ SAEN

> SAEN: “I’ve changed my mind and will be voting ‘for’ for the proposed Spurs arena“ SAEN

> SA REPORT: “Locals pony up to turn 1930s-era Fort Sam building into military health hub“ SA REPORT

> HOU CHRON: “The Texans remade their offensive line. The early results seem promising.“ HOU CHRON

> MRT: “Midland County names new complex after Sgt. Michael Naylor“ MRT

> SA REPORT: “‘Old-school Democrat’: Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Johnny Garcia wages congressional bid“ SA REPORT

> HOU CHRON: “Jerry likely to become hurricane Friday. Here’s where it’s headed“ HOU CHRON

> HOU CHRON: “Appeals court stops Robert Roberson’s execution, orders review of trial“ HOU CHRON

> HOU CHRON: “Why top football recruit Keisean Henderson picked UH and has stuck with Cougars“ HOU CHRON

> DMN: “Texas court grants Robert Roberson stay of execution, week before scheduled date“ DMN

> DMN: “Everything to know about Texas-Oklahoma: How to watch, Red River Rivalry storylines, more“ DMN

> DMN: “Oklahoma and Texas ADs hopeful Cotton Bowl upgrades will improve Red River fan experience“ DMN

> HOU CHRON: “UH bowl projections: Experts have Cougars anywhere from NRG to Memphis“ HOU CHRON

> TX TRIB: “Some Texas community colleges remove course materials amid broader push to limit gender identity discussions“ TX TRIB

> HOU CHRON: “Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign fundraises off Texas National Guard deployment“ HOU CHRON

> EP TIMES: “Gov. Greg Abbott authorizes Trump to deploy Texas National Guard to other states“ EP TIMES

> TX TRIB: “A North Texas community will vote to form a city in an effort to quiet down a crypto mine“ TX TRIB

> THE TEXAN: “Corporate Proxy Voting Becomes Red-State Lightning Rod in ESG Fight“ THE TEXAN

> FWST: “‘Second Amendment auditors’ walking roads with AR-15 and body armor, FL cops say“ FWST

> SAEN: “Metro to remove pride crosswalk after Abbott threatens to withhold funding from Texas cities“ SAEN

> EP TIMES: “Texas redistricting map creator claims race played no factor, focused on targeting Democrats“ EP TIMES

> MY RGV: “State Rep. Janie Lopez touts Trump endorsement in reelection announcement“ MY RGV

> MY RGV: “San Juan judge enters race to complete unexpired term of late JP“ MY RGV

> TPR: “Gov. Abbott directs TxDOT to withhold funding from cities with roadway markings like San Antonio’s rainbow crosswalk“ TPR

> SAEN: “The US sanctions Serbia’s main oil supplier, which is controlled by Russia“ SAEN

> THE TEXAN: “North Texas Senate District Special Election Sees Big Donations from Pro-Casino, Anti-Gambling Interests“ THE TEXAN

> TPR: “A Hindu nationalist movement celebrates 100 years. Now what?“ TPR

> COMMUNITY IMPACT: “Nonprofits, labor groups and council members top donors in support of Austin’s Proposition Q“ COMMUNITY IMPACT

> EP TIMES: “With the Texas National Guard now in Illinois, here’s what you need to know about the unit“ EP TIMES

> MRT: “Illinois leaders are waiting to see what’s next with Trump’s use of National Guard“ MRT

> KXAN: “Trump scoffs at Austin resolution to waive fees for ‘No Kings’ protest, item previously removed from agenda“ KXAN

> MRT: “Trump says Illinois governor and Chicago mayor should be jailed as they oppose Guard deployment“ MRT

> DMN: “21 hotels in Texas named best in the world at Michelin Key awards“ DMN

> HOU CHRON: “Blackfin Pipeline to relocate Conroe compressor station, citing public concerns“ HOU CHRON

> HOU CHRON: “This H-E-B donut is a TikTok hit that has fans at Texas stores before sunrise“ HOU CHRON

> HOU CHRON: “Dow plant fire caused more than 2 tons of chemical emissions, report says“ HOU CHRON

> FWST: “‘Loss for our community’: Indian student killed in Fort Worth is mourned“ FWST

> HOU CHRON: “4 dead in Houston shooting spree that started in Sugar Land, police say“ HOU CHRON

> FWST: “Heartbroken family returns beloved pup. Now she’s longest resident at TX shelter“ FWST

> TX TRIB: “South Texas students have a new chance to taste the race for space“ TX TRIB

> HOU CHRON: “FAA: Houston airports could face ground stops as shutdown strains staffing“ HOU CHRON

> DMN: “Cowboys’ stability on offensive line amid injuries stems from an unlikely friendship“ DMN

> FWST: “Repo man shot in Arlington by owner of repossessed vehicle, police say“ FWST

> FWST: “Driver chases and shoots at vehicle, ending in deadly crash, California cops say“ FWST

> DMN: “Parker Livingstone waited patiently to make his mark at Texas. His time to shine is here“ DMN

> FWST: “16-year-old’s lie about cop shooting him unravels thanks to body cam, GA cops say“ FWST

• EXTRA POINTS 

Recent Texas sports scores:
Wed
> NCAAF: Liberty 19, UTEP 8
Thurs
> NHL: Dallas 5, Winnipeg 4
> NCAAF: Jacksonville St. 29, Sam Houston St. 27
 
This weekend’s Texas sports schedule:
Fri
> 6:30pm: NCAAF: #24 South Florida at UNT (ESPN2)
Sat
> 11am: NCAAF: Houston at Oklahoma St. (TNT)
> 11am: NCAAF: Stanford at SMU (CW)
> 2:30pm: NCAAF: #6 Oklahoma at Texas (ABC)
> 2:30pm: NCAAF: TCU at Kansas St. (Fox)
> 6pm: NCAAF: Florida at #5 Texas A&M (ESPN)
> 6:30pm: NCAAF: Kansas at #9 Texas Tech (Fox)
> 6:30pm: NCAAF: Rice at UTSA (ESPNU)
> 7pm: NCAAF: Troy at Texas St. (ESPN+)
> 9:30pm: MLS: Dallas at LA Galaxy (Apple TV)
** NCAAF: Bye teams: Baylor
Sun
> 12pm: NFL: Dallas at Carolina (Fox)
> 6pm: MLS: LA FC at Austin (Apple TV)
** NFL: Bye teams: Houston

---

TEXAS SPORTS HEADLINES / LINKS:

DALLAS STARS: “Stars overcome Connor’s hat trick to hold off the Jets 5-4 in Gulutzan’s return” AP

TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL: “Florida faces tough test against undefeated No. 5 Texas A&M after snapping losing streak” AP

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL: “No. 9 Texas Tech playing 1st game as top 10 team since 2013 in Big 12 home opener against Kansas” AP

TEXAS FOOTBALL: “Oklahoma QB John Mateer upgraded to probable for Saturday’s game against Texas” AP

TEXAS FOOTBALL: “Tone around Texas much different being unranked instead of No. 1 against Red River rival Oklahoma” AP

TEXAS FOOTBALL: “Texas football: Longhorns hope to save their season with a Red River Rivalry win over OU” AAS ($)

SAM HOUSTON STATE FOOTBALL: “Garrison Rippa makes game-winning 52-yard field goal as Jacksonville State tops Sam Houston 29-27” AP

DALLAS COWBOYS: “Panthers running back Rico Dowdle says Cowboys’ 32nd-ranked defense better ‘buckle up’ on Sunday” AP

HOUSTON TEXANS: “Texans look for continued improvement after winning two straight following 0-3 start” AP

HOUSTON ASTROS: “Houston Astros make sweeping changes to coaching staff, training staff and front office” Hou Chron ($)

TCU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: “TCU’s addition of Olivia Miles lifts defending Big 12 champs to top of preseason poll” AP

KYLE FIELD: “Savannah Bananas will play game at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, which holds 102,000 fans, in 2026” Hou Chron ($)