Paxton’s Bid to Cancel Texas Charity Charter Met by Wary Court

Reluctant to support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) first-ever bid to run off a charity over its political statements, a statewide appeals court Wednesday considered softer penalties for nonprofit FIEL Houston.

During oral arguments in Austin, the justices compared Paxton’s proposed closure of FIEL Houston to a death penalty sanction.

“Are there any other remedies” besides revocation, Chief Justice Scott Brister of the Court of Appeals, Fifteenth District said, pressing a lawyer for Paxton.

Justice April Farris suggested possibly canceling the charity’s tax-exempt status, while leaving intact its ability to conduct business in the state.

Though he appeared to ...