Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico is calling on his opponent to release all files related to his “Epstein-style sweetheart deal” for an admitted child molester.
Adam Hoffman, a Waco, Texas, attorney, was arrested in 2022 for the years-long sexual abuse of a child, a felony punishable by up to life in prison. But in 2025, Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, secured a deal for Hoffman that ended in him spending only 30 days in jail and not registering as a sex offender.
Paxton refuses to answer questions about the Hoffman deal in a video circulated Wednesday, June 24, prompting Talarico to once again call for the release of all files related to the deal.
“Ken Paxton must release the Hoffman files and explain why he let an admitted child predator serve just 29 days in jail without even registering as a sex offender,” Talarico said in a news release. “Adam Hoffman should’ve served 25 years to life for sexually assaulting a young boy. Instead, the well-connected Waco lawyer served less than a month in jail. Texans deserve answers about this Epstein-style sweetheart deal. The Epstein class has no place in Texas.”
Talarico held a news conference on Thursday, June 18, in front of the McLennan County courthouse, the same place Paxton secured the deal for Hoffman, and called on his opponent to release all files related to the deal.
“All internal emails, records, communications, and documents related to the Adam Hoffman case must immediately be made public so the people of Texas can finally get answers about this corrupt deal,” Talarico said. “The truth must come out.”
Hoffman was represented in the case by the same attorney who represented Nate Paul, a close confidant of Paxton and a central figure in his Republican-led impeachment in 2023.
“This case was treated differently because of who Adam Hoffman was and who represented him,” the victim’s mother said in a statement. “[Child Protective Services], the police, the Attorney General’s office under Ken Paxton, and the judge all bent the system to protect him instead of protecting my son.”
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: James Talarico demands Ken Paxton release ‘sweetheart deal’ files
Reporting by Adam Powell, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Adam Powell, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
