Prosecutors Agree to Drop Charges Against Ken Paxton in 9-Year Long Political Prosecution

[Elderberry]

Texas Scorecard by  Brandon Waltens March 26, 2024

The deal marks the end of a long saga that culminated in the Texas House’s impeachment of Paxton last year, in part due to accusations of “obstruction” in the case.

After nearly a decade, a deal has finally been reached to dismiss state securities fraud charges against Attorney General Ken Paxton that have amounted to what some have called a political prosecution.

The charges stem back to 2015, shortly after Paxton took office as attorney general, when he was indicted in Collin County for allegedly failing to disclose his financial interest in a firm to potential investors. The Collin County indictment came after several counties declined to do so.

In the following nine years, the case has moved venues multiple times and been delayed repeatedly as the prosecutors sought to increase their own pay.

In a Houston court on Tuesday, Paxton and the prosecutors announced they had reached a deal to dismiss the charges and cancel the trial, which was slated to begin in three weeks.

According to the terms of the pretrial diversion agreement, Paxton must pay around $300,000 in restitution, along with 100 hours of community service and 15 hours of legal ethics courses.

Dan Cogdell, an attorney representing Paxton, said the state approached them with the deal and it does not amount to an admission of guilt.

“The agreement allows him to get back to representing the citizens of the State of Texas. But let me be clear, at no time was he going to enter any plea bargain agreement or admit to conduct that simply did not occur. There is no admission of any wrongdoing on Ken’s part in the agreement because there was no wrongdoing on his part,” said Cogdell.

More: https://texasscorecard.com/state/prosecutors-agree-to-drop-charges-against-ken-paxton-in-9-year-long-political-prosecution/

[Elderberry]

Paxton Settles His Criminal Case

https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=57590


After nine long years, seven years after the corresponding federal charges were thrown out, the case against Texas Attorney general Ken Paxton has ended with a whimper.

    A trial set to begin in Harris County District Court on April 15 has been canceled after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton obtained a pretrial agreement with special prosecutors to drop nine-year-old felony securities charges against him in exchange for meeting several conditions.

    Paxton was indicted in 2015 on three felony counts relating to state securities fraud – with the allegation that he did not disclose a financial ownership interest in a company that he solicited others to invest in, in addition to not being a registered investment advisor when doing so.

    A plethora of legal issues have resulted in the case lingering for years before finally being set for trial, including battles over the payment of the special prosecutors handling the charges and motions regarding what judicial venue should ultimately host the case.

    But after the Court of Criminal Appeals cleared the way last year for the venue to be set in Harris County, the trial date was finally set and all sides appeared ready to move forward.

    That was until Tuesday, when after a meeting at the Harris County Courthouse attorneys for Paxton, along with the special prosecutors handling the case, announced a pretrial diversion agreement had been reached, in which the charges would be dropped once Paxton meets several terms.

    Under the deal, Paxton must undergo 100 hours of community service in Collin County, take 15 hours of continuing legal education in ethics, and pay restitution of up to $300,000.

$300,000 is a considerable chunk of change, but I doubt it’s going to cramp the style of someone who practiced corporate law for a quarter of a century before being elected Attorney General.

But serving 100 hours of community service for three accused felonies is like getting a murder charge pled down to a traffic ticket. I sincerely doubt the plea will tarnish Paxton’s reputation among the voting public.

In truth the Texas voting public’s judgment on Paxton has already been rendered after he was reelected by a healthy margin in 2022 and acquitted in his impeachment trial.

This was the best shot Democrats had to end Paxton’s career and it didn’t amount to a hill of beans. He shows every sign of being around for Democrats to hate for a long, long time.