Byron Cook, Dubya, and the Crawford Ranch

Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
1 Corinthians 15:33

While working on our piece about the Paxton case yesterday, we decided to look into connections between Byron Cook and the Bushes.  We we're not prepared for what we found.  From the 2008 book Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush (via Google Books):

"Find me a ranch," Bush had ordered a Texas developer and politician named Byron Cook during the summer of 1998, after the governor had cashed out his share of the Texas Rangers.

 From the 2009 book The Co-Presidency of Bush and Cheney (via Google Books):

Crawford was a somewhat random location -- it had been chosen by Byron Cook, an Austin developer -- and the location had little connection to Bush's family or friends.  Bush had asked Cook in 1998 to find a large site for a home that he wanted to build for his retirement.  Money was no problem, since Bush had built up a reserve of funds from selling his ownership stake in the Texas Rangers.

Free Republic preserved this 2002 DMN article:

Deep in the heart of the Texas ballot, GOP state House hopeful Byron Cook of Corsicana uses his Web site to tell voters how he helped President Bush find his Crawford ranch.

Bottom Line: This really isn't surprising, but my goodness does it explain A LOT!!!