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Aaron Reitz has numerous alleged personal failings and a proven willingness to back corrupt bosses, making him unfit to serve in the Justice Department. In the Ken Paxton impeachment probe, a Texas Attorney General Office whistleblower accused Retiz of sexual harassment. The whistleblower also stated that Reitz was suspended from the office on two separate occasions. Once for a tweet in which he called Simone Biles “a national embarrassment” and a separate homophobic post. In September of 2024, Reitz was deposed by federal prosecutors in their long-running probe into Ken Paxton’s corruption. Paxton was accused in 2020 of abuse of power after eight whistleblowers from his office submitted a tip to the FBI. Paxton was later impeached by the Texas State House. Reitz was involved in drafting a report that Paxton personally signed off on that claimed to exonerate him from wrongdoing. |
Texas AG Whistleblower Accused Aaron Reitz Of Sexual Harassment. According to Dallas News, "One of the whistleblowers in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment case accused two senior agency employees of sexual harassment, according to an interview transcript released last week. David Maxwell told impeachment investigators in February that First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster and Aaron Reitz, who recently left his position at the agency to be Ted Cruz’s chief of staff, drove female employees away from the agency’s executive tier. [...] 'I would tell you that those two individuals, there have been many complaints of sexual harassment by the female employees up on the eighth floor. Most all of them have left. And their complaints were varied,' said Maxwell, who was the agency’s director of law enforcement for five years before he was fired after he and others reported Paxton to the FBI for alleged corruption. He added that 'you can’t find the complaints' about the alleged behavior. 'They’re so misogynistic it’s incredible how blatant they are about it and how openly sexual they are in talking around their female employees,' Maxwell said." [Dallas News, 8/22/23]
2021: Aaron Reitz Apologized After Calling Simone Biles “A National Embarrasement.” According to FOX 5, "Texas Deputy Attorney General Aaron Reitz has apologized after calling gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, among other things, 'a national embarrassment' in a tweet he later deleted. Biles made the decision to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics and take care of her mental health after feeling 'lost' in the air during a vault event and failing to complete all of her rotations. [...] Reitz posted a photo of Strug, writing, 'Contrast this with our selfish, childish national embarrassment, Simone Biles.' Reitz went on to delete the post, which appeared to also draw public criticism from the Texas attorney general’s office. The official account of Reitz’s employer referenced a 'very inappropriate and insensitive tweet by one of our employees' in a post applauding Biles. On Wednesday, Reitz tweeted, 'I owe Simone Biles an apology. A big one.” [FOX 5, 7/30/21]
Texas AG Whistleblower Stated Aaron Reitz Was Suspended Twice For Simone Biles Post And Homophobic Tweet. According to Exhibit 013 in Ken Paxton’s August 2023 impeachment proceedings, David M. Maxwell Jr. stated, “He -- he would put out on Twitter stuff that you're going, are you serious? He put out on Twitter something about homosexuals and put up like a -- like a picture that ·8· ·was obviously very sexual in nature trashing homosexuals. And then he did -- oh, the -- during the Olympics was the gymnast, the best of all time, greatest of all time. He came out with a Tweet about her very disparaging when she decided not to -- to go further because of injury. He got suspended over that, because there was such an outrage. But you now what? It hasn't changed him. He still puts crazy stuff out there.” [In The Matter Of Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr., House Managers’ Response To Paxton’s Motions, Exhibit 013, p. 72]
2020: Eight Texas AG Employees Reported Ken Paxton To The FBI For Abuse Of Power. According to Dallas News, "The email between Webster and Reitz – among nearly 4,000 pages and 150 exhibits filed by the lawyers leading the impeachment against Paxton that were made public Thursday night – was sent several months after eight high-ranking officials in the attorney general’s office reported the state’s top cop to the FBI. They alleged that they thought Paxton had abused his power by trying to help a real estate developer and campaign donor named Nate Paul." [Dallas News, 8/18/23]
Ken Paxton’s Firing Of Whistleblowers May Have Violated Federal Law. According to Bloomberg Law, "The decision to subpoena Reitz shows prosecutors are interested in allegations that Paxton, a three-term Republican, violated the federal Whistleblower Protection Act in firing employees who made a complaint against him to the FBI." [Bloomberg Law, 9/17/24]
Aaron Reitz Helped Produce Internal Report That Dismissed Whistleblower Claims About Ken Paxton’s Behavior. According to Bloomberg Law, "Reitz helped prepare an internal office report that examined allegations from the fired employees that Paxton engaged in bribery with a friend and concluded Paxton had done nothing wrong, according to an email used as evidence in Paxton’s impeachment trial last year. Reitz is quoted in a report used in the trial saying the aides were fired for 'holding the agency hostage,' with poor work habits, not for the FBI complaint." [Bloomberg Law, 9/17/24]
September 2024: Federal Prosecutors Deposed Aaron Reitz In Ken Paxton Corruption Probe.
According to Bloomberg Law, "Federal prosecutors in Texas had drafted bribery and obstruction charges against state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) before the US Justice Department took over the case in early 2023, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Now almost two years later, the probe into Paxton’s alleged bribery and misuse of office has continued, including in a recent deposition of Aaron Reitz, Paxton’s former deputy for legal strategy and now Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s chief of staff, another source said. Appearing before a grand jury on Aug. 6 in Austin, Reitz answered prosecutors’ questions about Paxton’s termination of whistleblower employees in 2020, a source said." [Bloomberg Law,
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