First degree felony is murder, rape, drugs, not an ethics violation which is all this really is.
Well, he was apparently getting a split of commissions received by the investment councilor to whom he was steering clients while he was serving as Attorney General. The two of them were keeping the fee-splitting arrangement a secret.
So basically the Attorney General of Texas was acting as a confidential sales rainmaker for an investment firm, and was getting a kickback for his efforts.
If all that is true, it strikes me as being not too cool.
I wouldn't be bothered if Democrats got anything within a thousand miles of the same treatment, but that's a joke as we all know.