Records obtained from the Texas Department of Agriculture under the Texas Public Information Act and a review of contemporaneous social media posts show that Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller illegally used state resources to campaign for Texas House Candidate AJ Louderback earlier this year.
On February 1st, Miller began the day in Corpus Christi, where he spent the night at taxpayer expense. He was accompanied on the trip by Bonnie Cudlip, who was then Miller’s Executive Assistant at the Texas Department of Agriculture. Cudlip was also Miller’s driver for the trip, using a state-owned vehicle from the Department’s fleet.
Their first stop was Cuero, Texas, where Miller spoke at a luncheon hosted by the DeWitt County Republican Party. Pictures of the luncheon were posted to Facebook by Louderback, who was seeking the Republican nomination for the Texas House District 30 seat being vacated by State Representative Geanie Morrison. Louderback defeated former Victoria Mayor Jeff Bauknight in the May Republican Runoff.
In his Facebook post, Louderback made it clear that Miller was attending the event to campaign for him.
“Had a fantastic day at the DeWitt County Texas GOP luncheon! Honored to be joined by Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and proud to have his endorsement. Great crowd on hand including a number of #DeWittCounty elected officials. We had a great time to discussing the critical issues facing Texas and our nation and how we are going to fix them. Thank you to people of DeWitt County for enthusiasticly welcoming Commissioner Miller for the first event of his campaign swing through TXHD 30 on my behalf,” wrote Louderback.
The event in Cuero, along with events later that day in Hallettsville and Victoria, were reflected on a mileage log kept by the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Louderback later made another Facebook post, with photographs, about Miller’s appearance for him at an event in Victoria held the same day.
“A HUGE thanks to all those who came out Thursday night to The Club at Colony Creek for our event! Marci and I are truly honored to have so many great patriots join our fight for Texan values! A special thanks to my good friend Sid Miller who traveled the district with me meeting the great people of #HD30!,” posted Louderback.
The next day, Miller posted to Facebook about having spent the previous day campaigning for Louderback. Miller’s post references the three campaign stops that were reflected on the state vehicle mileage log.
“I had an incredible day on the campaign trail yesterday with Sheriff A.J. Louderback, my endorsed candidate for the open State Representative seat in House District 30. Sheriff Louderback and I hit well attended events in Dewitt, Lavaca, and Victoria counties where we talked about the crisis on our Southern Border and why he is the only Republican in the race who can get to work on solving this critical issue on day one. I am proud to join my friends, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham and Attorney General Ken Paxton in supporting this good man as he works to continue his lifetime of service to our state and nation in the Texas House,” said Miller.
The Texas Voice contacted Cudlip, who acknowledged that the events she attended with Miller on February 1 were political in nature, that she attended and transported Miller to and from the events on state time, and that the hotel stay in Corpus Christi the previous night would not have been necessary but for the political events. Cudlip said that the events were organized by Todd M. Smith, Miller’s longtime political consultant, who is currently facing felony charges. According to Cudlip, she raised concerns with Miller and Smith about using Department resources for political purposes but was rebuffed. Cudlip also stated that Miller instructed her to collaborate with Smith regularly about both state and campaign business, including the events with Louderback and other candidates endorsed by Miller.
Cudlip voluntarily resigned from the Texas Department of Agriculture in March, citing concerns about the ethics of senior Department leadership and a toxic work environment.
In 2022, Smith was indicted on felony charges arising out of his alleged role in a scheme to sell hemp licenses issued by the Texas Department of Agriculture. After Smith’s indictment, Miller told the Texas Tribune that he and Smith had “mutually agreed to terminate” Smith’s association with Miller’s campaign.
However, it appears that Smith has maintained his involvement with Miller and the Texas Department of Agriculture. The Texas Voice recently filed an open records request with the Texas Department of Agriculture for all communications between Smith and Department employees. The Department responded by indicating that it would seek an opinion from the Texas Attorney General’s office to withhold the communications from disclosure, citing a section of the Texas Government Code that allows an agency to withhold “an interagency or intraagency memorandum or letter that would not be available by law to a party in litigation with the agency.”
Smith’s trial is currently set for October 21. Smith’s criminal defense attorney, Sam Bassett, filed a motion to withdraw from the case last week. Bassett’s motion to withdraw cites a “conflict in the attorney/client relationship” with Smith and Smith’s failure to “meet the terms of his employment agreement” with Bassett as reasons for the withdrawal.
Miller’s use of state resources, including his use of a state-owned vehicle, to campaign for Louderback violates Section 556.004 of the Texas Government Code. This statute states “A state agency may not use any money under its control, including appropriated money, to finance or otherwise support the candidacy of a person for an office in the legislative, executive, or judicial branch of state government or of the government of the United States. This prohibition extends to the direct or indirect employment of a person to perform an action described by this subsection.” The statute also specifically prohibits a state officer or employee from using a state vehicle for those purposes.
Section 39.02 of the Texas Penal Code also applies to Miller’s conduct. This statute, which establishes the offense of “Abuse of Official Capacity”, states, “A public servant commits an offense if, with intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, he intentionally or knowingly: (1) violates a law relating to the public servant’s office or employment; or (2) misuses government property, services, personnel, or any other thing of value belonging to the government that has come into the public servant’s custody or possession by virtue of the public servant’s office or employment.”
Miller and his office did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
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