Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton turned himself in to law enforcement officials on Monday in the face of felony charges on securities fraud.
The Texas Republican Party has condemned the felony charges against Attorney General Ken Paxton as a “sloppy process” that doesn’t befit the judicial system that Texans expect.
In a statement released today, Craig McDonald of TPJ said, “The only acceptable response to Paxton’s indictment is his resignation”. Paxton also was expected to sign three personal recognizance bonds before being released.
All of the charges relate to activities before Paxton was elected attorney general last fall.
He said then that the securities fraud allegations involved losses in excess of $100,000, but Schaffer declined to reveal the specifics of them.
The case lay dormant for months – aside from efforts by election opponents to use it against him. That charge carries a penalty of two to 10 years in prison. The Texas GOP issued a statement on behalf of the party Monday, which somehow tied Paxton’s arrest to his ongoing crusade against Planned Parenthood.
Paxton’s booking picture took some in the Collin County Sheriff’s Office by surprise, said Lt. Chris Havey, a spokesman for the department.
Critics are calling on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to step down following indictments that he defrauded clients.
The indictments were unsealed Monday.
After the case was transferred to Collin County and the investigation taken over by the Texas Rangers, Miller says any appearance of partisanship has been quickly eroded, “So the Republicans can’t say vendetta, political pox”. Of note, each of the fraud charges could result in five to 99 years in prison.
In the middle of a heated Republican primary last year, Paxton admitted to violating state securities law by not telling regulators that he got commissions for referring law clients to a financial planner. He becomes the second prominent Texas official to be indicted within the past year, after former Gov. Rick Perry. He told people he had put his own money into Servergy Inc., according to prosecutors, and helped persuade a state lawmaker and another wealthy businessman to buy more than $100,000 in shares.
That’s all true. Moreover, Texans deserve facts about what Paxton is alleged to have done and information from him in his defense.
The special prosecutors have denied any political motives, nothing that they were appointed by a Republican judge from one of the most conservative areas in the state. The office also has original jurisdiction to prosecute violations of the law, but in most cases, pursues criminal prosecutions only on request of local prosecutors.
The securities fraud indictments are related to Servergy, a McKinney-based company that has been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In a statement, attorney Joe Kendall said Paxton will plead not guilty and demand a trial by jury.
THE GRAND JURY for the County of Collin, State of Texas, duly selected, impaneled, sworn, charged and organized as such by the 416th District Court for the said County at the July Term, A.D.
