Epstein Reckoning Hits Ken Paxton As He Ignores Survivors’ Request To Meet [19th News]
AUSTIN, TX — Corrupt Ken Paxton is facing a “reckoning” over his history of protecting child predators and ignoring Epstein survivors' requests to meet, according to new reporting in the 19th News.
While Paxton partied with billionaires and the Epstein class at the GOP midterm convention, the 19th reports that “Talarico focused on survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.” Paxton now is facing intense criticism for ignoring calls to take action on the Epstein files while refusing to meet with survivors, who even attempted to attend the GOP midterm convention but were kicked out.
Paxton has been under fire for cashing checks from the Epstein-affiliated Jaffe family who attempted to buy Epstein’s notorious plane — “The Lolita Express” – and doling out an Epstein-style sweetheart deal to an admitted child molester, who served just days in jail and did not have to register as a sex offender because of Paxton’s corrupt plea deal.
Read more below:
September 15, 2026
By Grace Panetta
As Republicans gathered in Dallas, Texas for their pre-midterm convention last week, Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico focused on survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.
Talarico got a tour of the Reading Room, a traveling exhibit of the nearly 3 million files that the Department of Justice released from its investigation into the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender — the result of a hard-fought battle by survivors of Epstein’s abuse who are still seeking justice and transparency from a government they say repeatedly failed them.
Speaking alongside Epstein survivors Annie Farmer and Sharlene Rochard, Talarico praised them for their courage in coming forward and attacked his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, for not meeting with the survivors and what he said was “a history of covering up abuse.”
Talarico called on Paxton to use his authority to sue the Justice Department over its handling of the release of the files connected to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges.
“When did pedophilia become a partisan issue? When did holding sexual abusers accountable become controversial? When did Ken Paxton decide it was OK to ignore these survivors?” Talarico said.
“I am tired of seeing powerful people cover up abuse. I think we’re all tired of it — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike,” he added.
It’s typically been GOP candidates who have run attack ads hitting their opponents as being “soft” on crime. But the dynamics around crime messaging have shifted with the national spotlight on the Epstein files and the bipartisan push for more accountability for Epstein’s crimes
And Democrats in races from Arizona to North Carolina are attacking their Republican opponents for their votes not just on the Epstein files, but on their ties to other sex offenders and their records on cases of sexual abuse.
In Texas’ Senate race, Talarico has also slammed Paxton for his office offering what he called an “Epstein-style” plea deal to a defendant, Waco attorney Adam Hoffman, who was charged with sexually abusing a minor.
After Hoffman’s trial ended in a hung jury, the prosecution offered a deal that would have allowed him to serve just one day in jail, which sparked public outrage and was rejected by the judge in the case. Hoffman eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to 60 days in jail but was not required to register as a sex offender.
The day after the GOP convention last week, Talarico’s campaign debuted a new television ad attacking Paxton over the plea deal.
“Ken Paxton’s corruption endangers our kids,” the ad says. “We don’t need any more pedophile protectors in Washington.”
President Donald Trump, who spoke both nights at the Dallas convention and has backed Paxton, also had ties to Epstein, but he says they stopped associating well before Epstein became a convicted sex offender. Trump himself in 2024 was found guilty of falsifying business records, and in 2023 was found liable for sexual abuse in a case over accusations from the 1990s.
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