Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was due back in court Tuesday, closer than ever to facing felony securities fraud accusations that have plagued the Republican for over a decade.
However, it was unclear whether the April trial would proceed. A final pretrial hearing before a Houston judge was abruptly rescheduled last week, and neither a special prosecutor nor one of Paxton’s attorneys would say Monday whether the case would proceed or if a settlement was conceivable.
Paxton could face prison time and a ban from holding public office if found guilty. He has always denied wrongdoing while facing a slew of other legal issues, including an ongoing FBI investigation into corruption allegations and a historic impeachment that resulted in his acquittal last year.
Tuesday’s hearing was scheduled before state district judge Andrea Beall.
Brian Wice, a special prosecutor who has overseen the case since its inception, and Dan Cogdell, one of Paxton’s attorneys, declined to comment.
Paxton was initially indicted in 2015. However, pre-trial disagreements regarding trial location in Dallas or Houston, as well as funding for the state’s special prosecutors, have delayed the securities fraud case for years. Prosecutors claim Paxton was responsible for the majority of the delays.
Paxton’s lawyers attempted to dismiss the accusations against him because the years of delay violated his right to a speedy trial, but Beall refused their request last month.
Paxton faces accusations of deceiving investors in Servergy, a software business located in the Dallas area, by neglecting to reveal that he received payment for recruiting them. Paxton faced accusations of deceiving former state Representative Byron Cook.
Paxton faces two charges of securities fraud and one count of not being a registered investment adviser. He’s pleaded not guilty. The two securities fraud counts carry a maximum sentence of 99 years in jail.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission also charged Paxton about his work with Servergy in a federal civil case. But in March 2017, a federal judge dismissed the complaint against him.
The securities fraud conviction has hovered over Paxton’s entire tenure in statewide office. Nonetheless, Paxton, 61, has demonstrated incredible political tenacity, keeping and increasing strong support from GOP activists at the state and national levels, including former President Donald Trump.
The criminal accusations are among the several legal issues that have plagued Paxton throughout his three-year tenure as one of the country’s most prominent state attorneys general. Last year, the Texas Senate’s landmark impeachment trial cleared him of charges of abusing his position to benefit a wealthy contributor.
However, a federal probe is looking into some of the same claims raised in his impeachment.
He is also resisting former top aides’ efforts to force him to testify in a whistleblower civil action that includes impeachment-related charges.
