Southeastern Conference

A newly public deposition from December 2014 shows Texas Attorney General and GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton repeatedly unable or unwilling to answer federal investigators' questions about his personal finances. The transcript, obtained and authenticated by The New York Times and provided by someone opposed to Paxton's Senate bid, stems from an SEC probe into Servergy Inc., a McKinney, Texas tech startup under scrutiny for alleged false claims to investors. Paxton said "I don't remember" or "I don't recall" more than 200 times, attributing gaps in his knowledge to being busy with legislative work and campaigning, delegating investment matters to staff, and relying on his then-wife, Angela, to handle taxes. He described receiving 100,000 Servergy shares as a gift from the company's founder, calling it consistent with the man's faith, though he admitted it was "not logical."

The SEC later brought civil fraud charges against Paxton that were dismissed; a related state securities fraud indictment ended in a deal with no admission of wrongdoing. Paxton's campaign called the leak a political distraction, as he trails Democratic opponent James Talarico, who is seeking to unseal two other sealed depositions.