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Judge rejects AG Ken Paxton’s bid to dismiss securities fraud case

HOUSTON — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s criminal trial appears
poised to begin in two months after a judge on Friday denied his request
to dismiss charges.

Paxton’s long-awaited trial is set to begin April 15 in Houston on nearly 9-year-old charges of felony securities fraud. He has pleaded not guilty.

The attorney general sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that his constitutional right to a speedy trial had been violated. Judge Andrea
Beall of the 185th District Court ruled against Paxton after brief
arguments during a hearing in Houston.
Related:AG Ken Paxton back in court Friday in securities fraud case

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Paxton was indicted in 2015 on two counts of securities fraud related to allegations that he solicited investors in a Collin County company without disclosing that he was being paid for the work.

The first-degree fraud charges carry up to 99 years in prison if Paxton is convicted.

He is also accused of courting investors to a friend’s investment firm
without registering with state regulators, a third-degree felony. The
Texas State Securities Board fined Paxton $1,000 for the violation in
2014.

Paxton’s defense team argued Friday that special prosecutors appointed to
the case created such lengthy delays that a fair trial was no longer
possible.

“This case has been pending longer than three out of four of my
marriages,” defense attorney Dan Cogdell said.

A large portion of the yearslong delay in the case resulted from a dispute between the special prosecutors and Collin County commissioners, who have
not paid the appointed prosecutors since 2016, Cogdell argued.

Cogdell brought up the relative wealth of the special prosecutors, well-
known Houston defense attorneys Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, including
showing slides of their luxury vehicles and noting that Wice drives a Mercedes-Benz with vanity plates. Cogdell was corrected by Schaffer when
he said the attorney owns a Rolls-Royce.

“It’s a Bentley,” Schaffer said.

The lawyers had agreed to serve as prosecutors for $300 an hour. Wice said their usual rate was “exponentially higher.”

The lack of pay will no longer be an issue for Schaffer, who withdrew from
the case Friday after a disagreement with Wice over whether to offer
Paxton something akin to a plea deal. The offer would have essentially dismissed the case without any admission of guilt or responsibility as
long as Paxton did not break the law for a period of time.

After the hearing, Wice said the offer was less than a “slap on the wrist”
for Paxton and something he could not accept given the severity of the
charges.

“No one is above the law, and that includes Ken Paxton,” Wice said. “And
that’s why this case matters.”

Houston attorney Jed Silverman was appointed to the case. However,
Paxton’s defense may attempt to have him tossed, arguing that his
appointment violated state law for special prosecutors.

The securities fraud case is the most severe pending legal matter for
Paxton, who is one of the highest-profile state attorneys general in the country and is widely supported by the Republican base for his work to
further conservative causes through the courts.

Paxton also is facing an ethics complaint for his legal challenge to
results in the 2020 presidential election, a whistleblower lawsuit that
could cost taxpayers millions and an ongoing FBI investigation into
allegations that he misused his office to help a friend and political
donor.

The prosecution argued that Paxton himself caused large portions of the
delay through multiple appeals and legal challenges.

Wice also argued that Paxton has faced little hardship in the case — that
he has spent no time in jail, has been reelected twice and has amassed
millions of dollars of real estate while under indictment.

“He’s living his best life,” Wice said.

Beall, the presiding judge in the case since 2023 and a Democrat,
ultimately was unconvinced by Paxton’s argument to dismiss the case.
Before her ruling, she asked whether Paxton had been confined in jail at
any time for the charges. The judge also wanted to know how many days he
had appeared in court.

Paxton, who was in the court wearing a dark navy checked suit, responded
that he had been in jail one day. Wice clarified that the sole day of confinement was a walk-through for a booking and a mugshot at the Collin
County Jail in 2015. Both sides agreed he had been in court fewer than 20
days on the case.

A final pretrial hearing before Paxton’s trial in April was set for March
20.

Paxton’s defense team estimated the trial would last one week. Cogdell
said Paxton was ready to go to trial to put the matter behind him.

“They want to dance,” Cogdell said. “Put on your shoes, it’s time to go.
Let’s dance.”

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