First elected in 2007, Caldwell assumed the office of attorney general in January 2008, defeating his Republican opponent Royal Alexander by a margin of 33 percent. As attorney general, he was the chief legal officer of the state and represented the state in litigation. In addition, he provided legal advice to state agencies and employees.

ACORN

Caldwell was the only Democrat to receive the lowest rating, a letter grade of F+, from the June 2008 Survey and Scorecard report published by the liberal political organization, ACORN. The report was published in an effort to shine the spotlight on state attorneys general "leading the fight to protect homeowners from joining the flood of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure," according to the group. Austin King, ACORN Financial Justice Center Director, argued that, "like a few other offices, his was incredibly difficult to work with, refused to return the questionnaire and didn't even send a form letter declining to respond," and that they have no bone to pick with him.

Caldwell was one of the very few Democratic state top law enforcers who vigorously sought criminal charges against the political action group. In September 2009, an inquest conducted by the Pelican Institute revealed that ACORN and its related groups owed more than $1 million in state and federal taxes. Around the same time, the Louisiana Attorney General admitted that his office was launching a full-scale inquiry into the matter. He announced in October 2009 that "an internal review by the board of directors of the community organization ACORN determined that the amount allegedly embezzled" by Dale Rathke, brother of former-president Wade Rathke, exceeded $5 million. A month later, Caldwell issued a search warrant to conduct a raid of ACORN’s offices in New Orleans in which dozens of computers were seized.

In the midst of this investigation, Caldwell's office blamed Governor Bobby Jindal's (R) "opposition to a fee that would have raised money to hire more investigators" for the prosecution's slow progress. Jindal fired back that the division of the attorney general's office in charge of criminal investigations is allocated a budget of over $12 million, more than sufficient, he said, to do what was necessary to expedite the case.

Audit

Former Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle of Baton Rouge, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for insurance commissioner in 2003, emerged as a leading critic of Caldwell's attorney general candidacy. In 1997, Kyle reported that Caldwell "spent $1,529 in D.A. office funds to pay for personal items, including clothing and golfing expenses." The expenses included air fare to Montana and golf fees in Alabama. Kyle claimed that Caldwell tried "to quash release of parts of the audit . . . and used foul language and threats in an unsuccessful attempt to block the audit." He then accused Caldwell of having blamed his own secretary for the questionable spending: "Caldwell also said the spending problem in the 1997 audit was a mistake by his secretary, adding that he personally brought it to the auditor's attention."

Three years later, Caldwell accused Kyle's investigators of "an array of questionable activities ranging from improperly bugging conversations to having sex with witnesses in audit investigations" in testimony before the Legislative Audit Advisory Council. Caldwell "told the council...that state auditors working in north Louisiana had suppressed evidence, secretly tape-recorded interviews with witnesses, and compromised the credibility of witnesses in possible criminal investigations." Caldwell subpoenaed two of Kyle's investigators before a grand jury in Tallulah. Kyle later claimed that Caldwell was trying to indict Kyle or the investigators. Caldwell said after the Legislative Audit Advisory Council meeting that he "might reopen a grand jury investigation of Kyle's office."

Accusations of illegal contracts

In May 2013, Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch and the national American Tort Reform Association accused Caldwell of hiring top campaign contributors to represent the state in tort cases through the use of illegal contingency-fee contracts.

According to Melissa Landry, executive director of Lawsuit Abuse Watch, “The attorney general is contracting out much of the state's legal business to a small group of politically connected trial lawyers.”

Among those receiving the contracts were Allen Usry, Caldwell's campaign chief, as well as Usry's family and fellow lawyers at his firm. Caldwell's campaign treasurer, Wade Shows, also received contracts. Conservative blog TheHayride.com, through the use of a public records request, showed 13 firms that contributed $277,000 to Caldwell's campaigns received lucrative contracts. Caldwell responded, saying, “OK. But that's 13 out of 700 or 800 lawyers” he’s hired as outside counsel.

BP suit

On March 3, 2011, Caldwell filed a suit against BP and partner companies in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, seeking $1 million for every day oil was spilling into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion and ensuing oil spills. According to the suit, the spills “were caused by the acts, omissions, fault, negligence, gross negligence, reckless, willful and wanton behavior, and/or breach of federal and state laws.”

As of January 2013, Caldwell's office had spent close to $24 million to build the state's case, $15.4 million of which went to outside law firms. Eight out of the 11 firms contracted had previously contributed to Caldwell's campaign. Judge Carl Barbier, who is presiding over the case, took issue with the use of outside lawyers, saying in December 2011 that they "obstructed and frustrated the progress of the litigation." Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange also filed suit, but used staff lawyers for the work and said he had spent under $200,000 as of the same time period.

Melissa Landry, executive director of the Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, criticized the fees, saying, “The cozy relationship between Attorney General Caldwell and the private firms he’s contracted with to represent the state is very troubling. The lawyers in these firms have contributed more than $100,000 to Caldwell’s campaign, and at least two of them held leadership roles in his bid for re-election."

Car accident

Caldwell was taken to the hospital following a single-car accident in Madison Parish the morning of August 21, 2013. He suffered minor injuries after his vehicle veered off the highway and hit a tree. A witness driving behind Caldwell said the vehicle was headed north without any apparent problems with it suddenly veered off the road.

State police said they did not believe drugs or alcohol played a role in the incident. In the accident report, Caldwell was quoted as saying, “I was driving along and suddenly started feeling nauseated and the next thing I remember was somebody waking me up and being in the trees.” Caldwell's vehicle, a 2013 Ford Expedition, was towed from the scene. The owner of the vehicle is listed on the accident report as a real estate company with an address that does not exist. According to Caldwell's spokeswoman, Amanda Larkins, Caldwell's state vehicle received that owner designation for "law enforcement and security purposes."

GlaxoSmithKline settlement

On July 26, 2013, Caldwell announced Louisiana would receive $45 million from British healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline to settle lawsuits involving allegations of Medicaid fraud and deceptive marketing. The company also had to pay $7 million for private lawyers who handled the state's lawsuits.

In a statement, Caldwell said, “Today’s multi-million dollar recovery is historic for Louisiana and marks an important victory for our consumers who have every right to know about the risks and negative side-effects of prescription drugs. These kinds of deceptive tactics and misrepresentations will not be tolerated in this state, and violators like GSK will be held accountable.” GSK attorney Cleo Fields said the company did not admit to doing anything wrong.

Caldwell's office first sued GSK in 2011 over allegedly fraudulent claims it made for its prescription drug Avandia. In response, GSK sued Caldwell, claiming the lawyers hired by Caldwell for the case had a "personal financial interest" in the outcome. In the settlement, GSK agreed to drop the lawsuit as well.

The $45 million goes directly to the state's Medicaid program. Caldwell's office said the agreement was "the largest such pharmaceutical recovery ever received by the state.”

SLFPA-E lawsuit

In September 2013, The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA) demanded Caldwell withdraw his approval of an agreement between the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East (SLFPA-E) and lawyers who filed a suit against multiple oil and gas companies accused of destroying coastal wetlands. LOGA threatened to sue Caldwell if he did not withdraw his authorization of the agreement. Jeff Landry (R), who had recently left Congress, also criticized Caldwell, saying the authorization was illegal and accusing him of cronyism. Landry stated, "The actions of our Attorney General would turn the State’s coastal protection and flood control issues into an ambulance chasing free for all. It’s bad policy. It’s reckless. And, it’s flat irresponsible.

In response, Caldwell issued a statement, saying, "Every one of these accusations is a lie and the individuals making these statements know it." He said he did not authorize the suit and cannot do so under law, nor did he approve SLFPA-E's contract with their attorneys.

Healthcare reform

Caldwell was the only Democrat out of 26 state attorneys general to challenge President Obama's Affordable Care Act in March 2010. (He became a Republican after joining the suit.) Caldwell justified his participation in the lawsuit on the grounds that the law's individual mandate, which requires every American to purchase his/her own healthcare plan from a private insurance company, is unconstitutional. He stood behind his co-plaintiffs who argued that Congressional powers to regulate certain economic activities reserved under the Constitution's commerce clause do not extend to forcing citizens to purchase anything from a private company referring to them as, "market bystanders." Amid the U.S. Supreme Court hearings, which began in March 2012, Caldwell spoke out regularly to the press on the specific issue of the individual mandate. He believed that Obamacare would not survive the assessment of the majority of conservative-bending Supreme Court Justices, and explained why he believed the safer approach to expanding healthcare on a federal level would see Congress exploiting its explicit authority to tax and appropriate was passed over in favor of inflammatory, divisive reform: "If they want a tax, they can sustain that (in court), they just can't get it passed" through the House and Senate, he said on March 27, 2012. In homage to his Democratic roots, he told the liberal publication ThinkProgress the same day that his mistrust of private insurance companies, not the government, weighed heavily on his decision to challenge the individual mandate, saying, "If the government wants to put forth a policy where they will pay for everything and you won't have to go through an insurance policy, that'd be a whole lot better."

Party switch

Some three years into his first term, to which he was elected as a Democrat, Caldwell announced in February 2011 that he was switching her party affiliation to Republican. The only Democrat to join the federal suit challenging President Obama's (D) Affordable Care Act, Caldwell cited the bill as an example of how he felt more comfortable with the direction of the GOP. His switch came shortly after switches by two state senators and three state representatives, all of whom changed from Democratic to Republican.

Caldwell said he would not make any changes to the way he ran his office, stating, "Partisan politics will continue to be a non-issue with me. I will remain the same person with the same values and sensitivities, both as a public servant and as a private person. I will always endeavor to get my facts straight and go where the truth and the law lead me."

Rumors had been circulating the week before that he might switch parties, to which Caldwell responded, "No comment." Responding to the rumors, Kevin Franck, communications director for the state Democratic Party, said, "In his heart, Buddy Caldwell is a Democrat and whichever way the political winds blow he'll always be a Democrat." Following the switch, Franck said, "A career politician can change the letter after his name, but a leopard can’t change its spots. Buddy Caldwell is a Democrat at heart and the voters of Louisiana are smart enough to know an opportunist when they see one."

According to his official biography, as district attorney Caldwell "[participated] in the investigative assistance to law enforcement and prosecution of the cases in his district where practicable." His official biography as attorney general claimed he tried "most major felony cases in his three-parish district," and advised police juries, school boards, law enforcement and other organizations on legal matters. In addition to Caldwell's duties in the courtroom, he administered offices in the three parishes that compromised his district.

Accusations of nepotism

In December 1994, Caldwell married for the third time in Las Vegas. A few months later, he was served with divorce papers by his new wife. Four days after that, she was terminated as the "confidential assistant" to Louisiana Secretary of State Fox McKeithen. Caldwell testified that he arranged for his third wife's hiring with the help of an employee of the attorney general's office. "I've known Fox ever since we were children," Caldwell said. The third Mrs. Caldwell testified that McKeithen called her into his office on May 12, 1995, and they discussed her divorce case: "I was terminated from my job. I was upset. I was crying. I have a child to support. I could not survive without a job." Amid the divorce proceedings, Caldwell dropped a bid for lieutenant governor that year on the grounds that his position as district attorney would not allow him time to campaign. The lieutenant governorship was instead won by outgoing Governor of Louisiana Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette.

While he was district attorney for multiple parishes, Caldwell repeatedly refused to investigate and indict family members. In repeated audit findings from the Louisiana Board of Ethics and Legislative Auditors, Carolyn and Ray Caldwell, as well as their children, other family members, and friends, were discovered to be inappropriately profiting from Madison's Office of Clerk of Court finances.

Shortly before the three-candidate primary for attorney general on October 20, 2007, it was revealed that Caldwell's son, David Caldwell, was employed by former Attorney General Foti. Caldwell was himself a Foti supporter in the 2003 election.

Caldwell was the only Democrat to receive the lowest rating, a letter grade of F+, from the June 2008 Survey and Scorecard report published by the liberal political organization, ACORN. The report was published in an effort to shine the spotlight on state attorneys general "leading the fight to protect homeowners from joining the flood of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure," according to the group. Austin King, ACORN Financial Justice Center Director, argued that, "like a few other offices, his was incredibly difficult to work with, refused to return the questionnaire and didn't even send a form letter declining to respond," and that they have no bone to pick with him.

Caldwell was one of the very few Democratic state top law enforcers who vigorously sought criminal charges against the political action group. In September 2009, an inquest conducted by the Pelican Institute revealed that ACORN and its related groups owed more than $1 million in state and federal taxes. Around the same time, the Louisiana Attorney General admitted that his office was launching a full-scale inquiry into the matter. He announced in October 2009 that "an internal review by the board of directors of the community organization ACORN determined that the amount allegedly embezzled" by Dale Rathke, brother of former-president Wade Rathke, exceeded $5 million. A month later, Caldwell issued a search warrant to conduct a raid of ACORN’s offices in New Orleans in which dozens of computers were seized.

In the midst of this investigation, Caldwell's office blamed Governor Bobby Jindal's (R) "opposition to a fee that would have raised money to hire more investigators" for the prosecution's slow progress. Jindal fired back that the division of the attorney general's office in charge of criminal investigations is allocated a budget of over $12 million, more than sufficient, he said, to do what was necessary to expedite the case.

Former Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle of Baton Rouge, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for insurance commissioner in 2003, emerged as a leading critic of Caldwell's attorney general candidacy. In 1997, Kyle reported that Caldwell "spent $1,529 in D.A. office funds to pay for personal items, including clothing and golfing expenses." The expenses included air fare to Montana and golf fees in Alabama. Kyle claimed that Caldwell tried "to quash release of parts of the audit . . . and used foul language and threats in an unsuccessful attempt to block the audit." He then accused Caldwell of having blamed his own secretary for the questionable spending: "Caldwell also said the spending problem in the 1997 audit was a mistake by his secretary, adding that he personally brought it to the auditor's attention."

Three years later, Caldwell accused Kyle's investigators of "an array of questionable activities ranging from improperly bugging conversations to having sex with witnesses in audit investigations" in testimony before the Legislative Audit Advisory Council. Caldwell "told the council...that state auditors working in north Louisiana had suppressed evidence, secretly tape-recorded interviews with witnesses, and compromised the credibility of witnesses in possible criminal investigations." Caldwell subpoenaed two of Kyle's investigators before a grand jury in Tallulah. Kyle later claimed that Caldwell was trying to indict Kyle or the investigators. Caldwell said after the Legislative Audit Advisory Council meeting that he "might reopen a grand jury investigation of Kyle's office."

In May 2013, Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch and the national American Tort Reform Association accused Caldwell of hiring top campaign contributors to represent the state in tort cases through the use of illegal contingency-fee contracts.

According to Melissa Landry, executive director of Lawsuit Abuse Watch, “The attorney general is contracting out much of the state's legal business to a small group of politically connected trial lawyers.”

Among those receiving the contracts were Allen Usry, Caldwell's campaign chief, as well as Usry's family and fellow lawyers at his firm. Caldwell's campaign treasurer, Wade Shows, also received contracts. Conservative blog TheHayride.com, through the use of a public records request, showed 13 firms that contributed $277,000 to Caldwell's campaigns received lucrative contracts. Caldwell responded, saying, “OK. But that's 13 out of 700 or 800 lawyers” he’s hired as outside counsel.

On March 3, 2011, Caldwell filed a suit against BP and partner companies in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, seeking $1 million for every day oil was spilling into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion and ensuing oil spills. According to the suit, the spills “were caused by the acts, omissions, fault, negligence, gross negligence, reckless, willful and wanton behavior, and/or breach of federal and state laws.”

As of January 2013, Caldwell's office had spent close to $24 million to build the state's case, $15.4 million of which went to outside law firms. Eight out of the 11 firms contracted had previously contributed to Caldwell's campaign. Judge Carl Barbier, who is presiding over the case, took issue with the use of outside lawyers, saying in December 2011 that they "obstructed and frustrated the progress of the litigation." Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange also filed suit, but used staff lawyers for the work and said he had spent under $200,000 as of the same time period.

Melissa Landry, executive director of the Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, criticized the fees, saying, “The cozy relationship between Attorney General Caldwell and the private firms he’s contracted with to represent the state is very troubling. The lawyers in these firms have contributed more than $100,000 to Caldwell’s campaign, and at least two of them held leadership roles in his bid for re-election."

Caldwell was taken to the hospital following a single-car accident in Madison Parish the morning of August 21, 2013. He suffered minor injuries after his vehicle veered off the highway and hit a tree. A witness driving behind Caldwell said the vehicle was headed north without any apparent problems with it suddenly veered off the road.

State police said they did not believe drugs or alcohol played a role in the incident. In the accident report, Caldwell was quoted as saying, “I was driving along and suddenly started feeling nauseated and the next thing I remember was somebody waking me up and being in the trees.” Caldwell's vehicle, a 2013 Ford Expedition, was towed from the scene. The owner of the vehicle is listed on the accident report as a real estate company with an address that does not exist. According to Caldwell's spokeswoman, Amanda Larkins, Caldwell's state vehicle received that owner designation for "law enforcement and security purposes."

On July 26, 2013, Caldwell announced Louisiana would receive $45 million from British healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline to settle lawsuits involving allegations of Medicaid fraud and deceptive marketing. The company also had to pay $7 million for private lawyers who handled the state's lawsuits.

In a statement, Caldwell said, “Today’s multi-million dollar recovery is historic for Louisiana and marks an important victory for our consumers who have every right to know about the risks and negative side-effects of prescription drugs. These kinds of deceptive tactics and misrepresentations will not be tolerated in this state, and violators like GSK will be held accountable.” GSK attorney Cleo Fields said the company did not admit to doing anything wrong.

Caldwell's office first sued GSK in 2011 over allegedly fraudulent claims it made for its prescription drug Avandia. In response, GSK sued Caldwell, claiming the lawyers hired by Caldwell for the case had a "personal financial interest" in the outcome. In the settlement, GSK agreed to drop the lawsuit as well.

The $45 million goes directly to the state's Medicaid program. Caldwell's office said the agreement was "the largest such pharmaceutical recovery ever received by the state.”