Updated at 4:40 p.m. to include information about Associate Deputy Attorney General Andrew D. Leonie's resignation.

AUSTIN — A top lawyer in the Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton resigned Thursday after reports he wrote a Facebook post that called women's sexual misconduct allegations "pathetic."

The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday morning Associate Deputy Attorney General Andrew D. Leonie posted on Facebook this week: "Aren't you also tired of all the pathetic 'me too' victim claims? If every woman is a 'victim', so is every man. If everyone is a victim, no one is. Victim means nothing anymore."

The post went up at 2:40 a.m. on Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, Leonie had resigned. In a press release, Paxton's office said Leonie's exit was effective immediately.

"The views he expressed on social media do not reflect our values," Paxton's Director of Communications Marc Rylander wrote. "The OAG is committed to promoting and maintaining a workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment."

Leonie's post was removed late Thursday afternoon. His bio was changed from "Associate Deputy Attorney General" to "Retired."

His Facebook post linked to an article from the conservative website The Federalist titled, "Can we be honest about women?" The teaser to the article, which was written by a woman, states: "Here's a little secret we have to say out loud: Women love the sexual interplay they experience with men, and they relish men desiring their beauty."

Leonie's background

Leonie, a former judge and assistant district attorney, was named associate deputy attorney general in the Office of Special Litigation just after Paxton took office in February 2015, his LinkedIn profile states. He described his job duties as "assisting in supervision" of 11 litigation divisions at the agency.

Leonie was behind an AG's office letter that blasted a Frisco-area high school for allowing Muslim students to use an empty classroom to pray. The letter, which alleged the school might be infringing on the constitutional rights of its non-Muslim students, was called a "political stunt" by district staff who said the room was open to all students.

He previously worked for Paxton's predecessor, Gov. Greg Abbott, as a regional chief for consumer protection and special litigator, according to Leonie's LinkedIn. His salary was listed as $150,984 in April on the Texas Tribune's salary explorer.

Leonie's post comes as some conservatives question the increasing number of sexual harassment and assault claims against the nation's most powerful men in media, politics and business. While the stories have led to a number of high-profile resignations and apologies in the private sector, change is slower in the political realm, where it's usually up to voters to oust elected officials accused of sexual misconduct.

In Texas, for example, Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold on Thursday decided not to run for reelection after allegations he made lewd comments and unleashed profanity-laced tirades on staffers. The decision was made after Farenthold declined to resign for weeks after news broke he once used $84,000 in taxpayer money to settlement a harassment claim. Accusations against state lawmakers — as well as concerns over the ability of elected officials to harass with impunity — have also led to new training requirements in the Legislature.

Andrew D. Leonie, right, is pictured with Attorney General Ken Paxton in a photograph posted to Leonie's Facebook in November.

AG social media rules

The office of the attorney general's employee rules state staffers "should refrain from posting information on the Internet that could reasonably be expected to generate controversy and/or disruption at the OAG."

Leonie's Facebook page included the following disclaimer: "These are my opinions only on my Christian faith, my great kids and as a conservative populist!" In other posts he rooted for failed Alabama Senate Candidate Roy Moore and shared an article from the Alliance Defending Freedom calling out "gender identity theory."

He's also weighed in on the sexual harassment discussion on other social media platforms, retweeting a video from a former Miss Universe manager denying the validity of sexual assault allegations against President Donald Trump. Just after Trump's election, Leonie retweeted a cartoon that used a four-letter pejorative for the female anatomy to refer to those who took part in the Women's March.

"When men are being their sexual selves, drawn to a woman's beauty, they're not exploiting women. They are responding to them," the article on sexual harassment stated. "The women are the fire, drawing a man toward their feminine heat."

In addition to sharing the Federalist article, Leonie also liked his own post.