Justice for some
An investigative collaboration between the Texas Observer, KXAN, KTEP, and Fort Worth Report.
For decades, public corruption cases against state officials were investigated and prosecuted in Texas’ capital city. But in 2015, after a dustup at the highest levels of state government, lawmakers instead moved those responsibilities to the Texas Rangers and local prosecutors. A new analysis of the cases from the past five years reveals few have been prosecuted and most Ranger investigations focused on lower-level officials. In this investigative collaboration, we take a closer look at the Central Texas cases falling short and the legislative history that led to a system critics claim does little to hold elected leaders accountable.
PUBLIC INTEGRITY CASES INTERACTIVE MAP
Click on a region to view the Texas Rangers public integrity cases spanning 2015-2020, broken up by county.
PART 1
In Texas, Corrupt Politicians Face Little Accountability
The Texas Rangers are tasked with investigating corruption and crimes by public officials. Those officials are rarely held accountable.
REPORTER ROUNDTABLE
Texas Observer’s Lise Digger, KXAN’s Josh Hinkle and David Barer, KTEP’s Angela Kocherga, and Fort Worth Report’s Jessica Priest go live on Facebook to discuss their investigation.
PART 2
KTEP INTERVIEW WITH REPORTER LISE OLSEN
PART 3
PART 4
How Public Corruption Investigations Can Fail
A former Texas Ranger provides rare insights into the mostly secret system set up to investigate complaints about public officials.