DISGRACED Former Paxton Judge's REVEALING Political Tell

"A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul."
Proverbs 18:7

We intended to address this, but the indefatigable Jon Cassidy beat us to the punch:

“I think we see dark-money special interests that are attacking on social media,” said Chris Oldner, a district judge and candidate for the statewide Court of Criminal Appeals. “We see outside groups trying to influence not only through social media and websites but also something as extreme as what we saw in Austin a couple months ago with the Austin Criminal Court judge that was attacked outside of her home. And these groups are trying to influence outcomes and it’s really something that strong judges need to do, stand up for and push up against.”

Oldner has been best known for his role in a criminal case aimed at bringing down Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton’s attorneys have accused Oldner of mishandling the grand jury process that resulted in Paxton’s indictment on three felony counts.

Oldner’s WFAA statements seemed to refer to Watchdog.org and Empower Texans. The independent news outlets have reported on the court records containing those allegations, with Empower Texans adding editorial comment in agreement with Paxton’s allegations.

Despite the judge’s characterization of the news organizations as “outside forces,” all of the reported allegations against him are contained in court records.

“That means reporters are free to cite them accurately without risk of a libel suit from a perturbed judge,” said Watchdog editor Will Swaim.

“Like most American courts, Texas courts recognize the fair report privilege, the opinion and fair comment privileges, the substantial truth privilege, and the neutral reportage privilege, not to mention the absolute truth defense,” Swaim said. “Plus, Judge Oldner’s a public figure. All of those are reasons it’s perfectly legal to report on the allegations against him – whether the judge likes it or not.”

Paxton’s attorneys have accused Oldner of improperly attempting to influence the Grand Jury, and Oldner responded to some of those points Sunday, although several of his assertions are flatly contradicted by the facts of the case.

Read the whole thing here.

Bottom Line: When candidates for statewide office (like Chris Oldner) start yammering on about 'dark money,' it's strong circumstantial evidence they're in cahoots with Joe Straus.