Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) will stand trial on felony state securities charges next year, a Houston judge announced Monday.
Judge Andrea Beall set the trial for April 15.
Paxton appeared in Beall’s courtroom Monday for his latest appearance in a case that he was indicted in back in 2015, shortly after Paxton took office. Paxton is charged with two first-degree felonies for recruiting people to invest in a company, Servergy, without disclosing he was being paid by the company. Paxton is also charged with a third-degree felony for failing to register with state securities regulators.
A conviction would likely strip Paxton of his license to practice law in Texas. However, he could remain the state’s attorney general, a position that doesn’t require a law license.
The case against him has dragged on for nearly a decade over disputes like Paxton’s failed effort to hold the trial in Collin County, his Dallas-area home, and on how much special prosecutors will get paid.
Paxton, out on a $5,000 bond, has denied wrongdoing.
The securities allegations were used by the Texas House in May to impeach Paxton in a 20-count case that focused on bribery and misuse of office. The Senate opted not to not consider the securities allegations at trial, then dismissed them after acquitting Paxton on all of the other counts.
Paxton, a darling of the far right, has vowed revenge on those he deems responsible for his impeachment, including several Republican House members whose political opponents he is supporting in March’s primary election.
Paxton remains the subject of an ongoing federal investigation into his relationship with an Austin businessman named Nate Paul. Former aides in Paxton’s office filed a complaint in 2020 alleging that Paxton had provided legal services favorable to Paul in exchange for a home remodel and a job for a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an extramarital affair.
The case is Texas v. Paxton, Tex. Dist. Ct., No. 155510201010 - 3, 10/30/23.
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