Lawyers Argue Charges Against Texas Attorney General Should Be Dropped
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McKINNEY (CBS11) - The state's top prosecutor, Attorney General Ken Paxton, returned to court Tuesday as a defendant in his securities fraud case.
At a hearing in the Collin County courthouse in McKinney, Paxton's high-powered legal team went head to head with the state's special prosecutors over whether the criminal charges should be tossed out.
Paxton's lawyers argued their client shouldn't be charged because the Texas Securities Board didn't believe there was a criminal case.
But special prosecutor Brian Wice wasn't impressed. "Essentially, what he wants the court to do is make these indictments go away, hit the re-set button."
Paxton's defense attorney Phil Hilder told Judge George Gallagher, "To my knowledge, there hasn't been another rogue prosecution in this state as is being conducted right here."
At the time of the alleged wrong-doing, Paxton was a state lawmaker.
He was elected Texas Attorney General in November, 2014.
In one of the three felonies, Paxton is accused of giving investment advice without being registered in the state.
Another lawyer for Paxton, Bill Mateja said even though his client paid a $1,000 fine to the state securities board for not registering with them, Paxton and his attorneys didn't realize until much later that wasn't necessary because the firm Paxton worked with was already registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mateja told the judge, "Everyone missed the fact there's a federal registration."
But Kent Schaffer, another special prosecutor argued that Paxton still had to register with the state, and that when he was a state legislator, he helped pass the law to make it a crime, for those who didn't do so.
Schaffer says other people have already been prosecuted under that law. "I have the cases, cause numbers and counties and sentences based on the law that he passed, that he is now saying he cannot understand. It doesn't even make sense."
Paxton also faces two felonies accusing him of selling shares in a company in 2011 without disclosing that he has ties to the firm.
The attorney general's lawyer, Phil Hilder argued the two other indictments should be tossed because Collin County Judge Chris Oldner, improperly selected the grand jury that indicted Paxton. "It's not the way it's done to pick a petite jury and this process is supposed to be fair and well, it's not."
Hilder said Oldner only selected people who volunteered to serve on the grand jury, instead of considering everyone.
Hilder also said Oldner didn't ask the volunteers required questions about their motives until afterwards, instead of before they said they would sit on the panel.
But under questioning by special prosecutor Kent Schaffer, the assistant Collin County DA who works with grand juries, Gail Leyko said she was there when the grand jury was chosen, and that nothing unusual happened.
Paxton's lawyers also accused Judge Oldner of telling his wife that the grand jury had indicted Paxton one week before it became public.
Until it becomes public, grand jury matters are supposed to be kept secret.
Judge Oldner didn't return our call seeking comment.
Judge Gallagher says he will decide what to do with the indictments as early as next Monday or a week or two later.
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