Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton rang in 2025 on a luxury balcony in Dubai, watching fireworks over the Burj Khalifa. Next to him, according to a video obtained by The Wall Street Journal, were two Americans who had been indicted on federal fraud charges and had not come home to face them.
One of those men had given Paxton $190,000. The Texas attorney general, the state's top law enforcement officer, has not explained what he was doing there.
A Balcony, Fireworks and Two Fugitives
The 37-second clip shows Paxton and his girlfriend, Tracy Duhon, watching the midnight fireworks with Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail. Another guest filmed it. Details of the gathering also appear in court filings, according to the Journal.
Paxton was still married when the video was shot. He was there with a woman who wasn't his wife, celebrating with men wanted by the U.S. Justice Department.
Accused of Looting a Chicago Hospital
Federal prosecutors in Illinois indicted Ahmed and Suhail in July 2024. They are accused of embezzling more than $15 million from Loretto Hospital, a taxpayer-funded hospital on Chicago's West Side, where Ahmed was the chief financial officer.
Prosecutors say the pair paid hospital money to shell vendors for goods and services that were never delivered. Ahmed faces a separate fraud case tied to at least $195 million in government payments for bogus Covid-19 tests.
Both men have pleaded not guilty. Neither has been convicted.
$190,000 From an Indicted Donor
Campaign finance records reviewed by the Journal show Ahmed gave Paxton $190,000. That includes $25,000 sent just days after he was indicted.
State records published by Transparency USA date that check to July 15, 2024, three days after the Justice Department announced the charges. Less than six months later, the Republican attorney general was partying with him overseas.
How the Fugitives Got Caught
Ahmed and Suhail had left the country before the charges came down. Suhail settled in Dubai and opened a plastic surgery clinic. Ahmed was arrested in Serbia in November 2025 on an international Red Notice.
Suhail's lawyer says civil matters in Dubai kept him from traveling and that he returned voluntarily. Ahmed's lawyers have blamed family health issues for his delay. Ahmed is in custody. Suhail is out on a $5 million bond with home confinement.
Paxton's Answer: He's the Victim
Paxton's campaign did not deny the trip or explain it. Senior adviser Nick Maddux instead compared him to Trump, saying Paxton has been "politically persecuted for years."
That is the same line Paxton has used through his securities fraud indictment, his impeachment and his divorce. It does not answer the question: why was Texas's top cop celebrating with indicted fugitives who bankrolled him?
One Week Before Early Voting
The video lands a week before early voting starts in Texas. Polls show Paxton locked in a dead heat with Democrat James Talarico, who has hammered him over his jet-setting lifestyle.
Talarico's response was short. Even at a party full of fugitives, he said, Paxton is "still the sketchiest guy in the room."
The Bottom Line
Ken Paxton wants Texans to send him to the U.S. Senate. He spent New Year's in Dubai with his girlfriend and two men running from federal fraud charges, one of whom had handed him $190,000. Texas's top law enforcement officer partied with fugitives instead of turning them in, and his campaign's only answer is that he is the real victim. Voters get their say starting next week.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal (Elizabeth Findell), via FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, Newsweek, Mediaite and The New Republic; KSAT (Zaria Oates).