Ken Paxton to push for dismissal of charges as lawyers spar
The criminal case against Attorney General Ken Paxton has gotten testy, with prosecutors and defense lawyers trading insults and accusations of reckless, desperate and bombastic behavior in written back-and-forths to the judge.
The war of words centers on Paxton’s multiple attempts to dismiss charges that he violated state securities laws, which will be the subject of a two-day hearing set to begin Tuesday in McKinney. If the motions and other briefs filed in advance of the pretrial hearing are any indication, a legal brawl is at hand.
Tensions escalated in early November when defense lawyers accused prosecutors of misconduct for speaking to reporters about secret grand jury activities before Paxton’s indictments were unveiled Aug. 3. The interviews violated Texas law, were unethical and were “clearly” intended to turn potential jurors against Paxton, defense lawyers told state District Judge George Gallagher.
Firing back, prosecutors filed a brief saying they did nothing improper and calling the accusations a gratuitous attempt to cast them “as the bad guys in the court of public opinion” — a ploy they likened to Don Draper, a character on “Mad Men,” advising clients to change the subject if they didn’t like what was being said.
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