New Mexico, Texas, Pennsylvania: A look at three state officials under fire

A potentially career-derailing scandal can take many forms, as politicians across the nation have shown again and again.

Here's a look at the controversies currently broiling in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas. Three very different criminal cases have been lodged against New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna J. Duran, Pennsylvania Atty. Gen. Kathleen Kane and Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton.

New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna J. Duran

REPUBLICAN

Elected to office: 2010, 2014

The controversy: Duran — the first Republican elected as New Mexico's secretary of state in eight decades — has been accused of using her election fund as a personal piggy bank at jewelry stores, ATMs and casinos. Investigators said they found large cash and campaign deposits transferred between campaign and Duran's personal accounts as well as falsified campaign finance reports.

The latest: Duran abruptly resigned Thursday night and pleaded guilty Friday to felony embezzlement, money laundering and campaign-reporting violations. A judge still has to sentence Duran, but the state attorney general's office says her punishment will include restitution.

"After today, citizens can be confident that Dianna Duran will no longer have supervisory control of public funds or the reporting process within the Secretary of State’s Office," New Mexico Atty. Gen. Hector Balderas said in a statement.

Pennsylvania Atty. Gen. Kathleen Kane

DEMOCRAT

Elected to office: 2012

The controversy: Investigators have accused Kane of releasing confidential grand jury information to the media to embarrass a critic, and then lying about it to another grand jury to cover her tracks.

Kane was arraigned in August on charges including perjury and contempt of court, and the state supreme court suspended her law license in September, which limits some of her abilities in office.

Kane has admitting to leaking some documents but denied breaking the law.

The latest: Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati announced plans Friday to launch a bipartisan senate committee to examine whether Kane should be removed from office.

Scarnati said the committee would issue a preliminary report 30 days after its members are appointed and would be "tasked with examining Ms. Kane's ability to perform the functions of her position with an indefinitely suspended law license, as well as possible other areas that may impact her performance."

The senate would need a two-thirds majority to give the state's governor, Tom Wolf, a Democrat, the power to remove Kane from office. Wolf previously has called for Kane to resign.

Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton

REPUBLICAN

Elected to office: 2014

The controversy: This scandal predates Paxton's time as attorney general. A Texas grand jury indicted Paxton in August on suspicion of duping investors in 2011 into backing a Dallas-area technology firm without disclosing that he was receiving a commission for their investment.

Paxton — at that time a solicitor — also was accused of not registering as a financial advisor and not disclosing to his clients that he had not himself invested in the company.

The Texas State Securities Board previously fined Paxton $1,000 in 2014 after he admitted to failing to register. But Paxton has pleaded not guilty to the three felony charges of securities fraud he now faces.

"Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton will plead not guilty to these accusations, and he will demand a trial by jury," Paxton's attorney, Joe Kendall, said in a statement after Paxton was indicted. "He is looking forward to the opportunity to tell his side of the story."

The latest: Paxton's office said this week that he would step aside from some duties that might overlap with the pending criminal case against him, according to the Austin American-Statesman. 

Nigel Duara contributed to this report.

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