In Texas, violating campaign ethics laws rarely yields repercussions. The attorney general’s office is to blame.

NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

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Repercussions rare for violating campaign ethics laws in Texas due to attorney general's office

In 1989, Bo Pilgrim, an East Texas chicken plant magnate, strolled the floor of the Texas Senate and dispensed $10,000 checks to nine members in an effort to stop a worker’s compensation bill from passing. The scandal, dubbed “Chickengate,” was shocking but legal. But the chicken man’s brazenness — what he called campaign contributions, many Texans saw as bribes — ruffled enough feathers to usher in a rare era of good government reforms. Lawmake…