Ex-top aide to Texas AG: 'Shocked' at his legal intervention

  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A former aide to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke out for the first time since stepping down after accusing the state’s top lawyer of crimes including bribery and abuse of office. Jeff Mateer, a former top aide to the Republican attorney general, told the Dallas Morning News in an interview Friday that he began to have concerns about his boss’ conduct in July. Mateer noted that Paxton wanted to get involved personally in a case against Nate Paul, a Texas real estate developer. Ian Prior, Paxton’s campaign spokesman, contends that Paxton's intervention was an effort to encourage a settlement.