The Wall Street Journal reports that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spent New Year’s Eve 2024 on a luxury balcony in Dubai, watching fireworks with his girlfriend, Tracy Duhon, and two American men who were actively fleeing federal prosecution at the time. The guests were Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail, both indicted in 2024 on charges of embezzling $15 million from a Chicago hospital where Ahmed served as CFO. They had not yet returned to the United States to face those charges on December 31, 2024.
The financial link between Paxton and the fugitives is stark. Campaign finance records show Ahmed, a healthcare executive with Texas interests, donated a total of $190,000 to Paxton. That includes a $25,000 contribution made just days after Ahmed’s federal indictment. Ahmed has since returned to the US and is currently in custody; he also faces a separate, larger scheme involving at least $195 million in fraudulent government payments for Covid-19 tests, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Defenses for the two men cite logistical and personal hurdles. Ahmed’s lawyers argued in court filings that he was outside the US when the first indictment dropped and that family health issues delayed his return. Suhail’s attorney claimed civil matters in Dubai prevented his travel, stating he returned voluntarily once those issues were resolved. Paxton’s campaign adviser Nick Maddux did not address the Dubai trip directly in a statement to the Journal. Instead, he claimed Paxton has faced "political persecution" for years.
This revelation lands like a grenade in the middle of a tight Texas Senate race. Paxton, a Trump-backed Republican, faces Democrat James Talarico in a contest already shadowed by Paxton’s 2023 impeachment over alleged abuse of office. He survived that vote in the state Senate, but the Dubai incident adds another layer of scrutiny for voters. The party was also documented in court filings from a Texas civil case, suggesting the details were already in the public record before the Journal’s report.
Paxton’s personal life remains a point of contention. His wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, filed for divorce last year, citing adultery following public reports of affairs. With the election approaching, the narrative has shifted from policy to character, forcing Paxton to defend his judgment in associating with federal fugitives while accepting their significant financial support.