Ken Paxton says FBI should be dissolved because of corruption in the agency

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday said the FBI should be dissolved because he argues it is filled with corruption and political influence.

Paxton, who has been the subject of law enforcement investigations, including by the FBI, told former Trump adviser Steve Bannon that the federal agency should be dismantled because "it would be better to have nothing." 

"The FBI was formed to go after organized crime. And the problem with that now is they are organized crime," Paxton told Bannon on his "War Room" show. "Right now everybody’s like, well, what about crime? Well, they’re not there to stop crime anymore. They are a political organization designed to persecute people like you and me. And so it would be better not to have anything there then to have that."

Paxton was impeached by the Republican-led Texas House of Representatives on charges related to bribery, but he was acquitted by the state Senate. He was also reported to the FBI at the time.

Paxton also compared the FBI to the Nazi's Gestapo because of the corruption, after Bannon made the same comparison with the FBI and Justice Department.

"They are the Gestapo. We’re in Venezuela. We might as well be in China. We might as well be in Germany during the 30s and 40s," Paxton said. "It is corrupt, is the Gestapo. They don’t follow any laws anymore. And ... no one can stop them."

Paxton has denied any wrongdoing in his own legal cases, but has long been the subject of investigations. In 2020, his staff reported him to the FBI for suspected corruption over his dealings with a donor and real estate investor. He was later sued over allegedly retaliating against the whistleblowers, but settled with them in a $3.3 million deal.