More than eight years after his indictment on charges of securities fraud, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has a trial date. Paxton's trial will begin on April 15, 2024, in Harris County.
A grand jury indicted Paxton in July 2015, seven months after he started his first term as attorney general. Paxton has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors say he tried to attract investors to a technology company without telling them he was being paid to promote the firm.
Paxton was indicted in his home in Collin County north of Dallas. The trial has been delayed by prosecutors seeking a change in venue, saying Paxton's team had "embarked on a crusade clearly calculated to taint the Collin County jury pool."
In June, the trial was moved to Harris County, which includes Houston.
The trial has also been delayed by payment for special prosecutors who say they have not been paid since 2016.
Paxton attended the hearing Monday morning but did not speak.
"I think this will be a fair trial. We have a fair judge. This is about the money for the special prosecutors. It's not about justice," Philip Hilder, one of Paxton's lawyers, told reporters after the hearing.
Prosecutors say they expect a fair trial as well. They say the impeachment trial in the Texas Senate, which was unrelated to the criminal charges, was a "complete farce."
"This judge is not corrupt. This judge is not on the take," Prosecutor Kent Schaffer said.
Since his indictment, Paxton has been reelected twice. In November 2022, he beat Democrat Rochelle Garza 53.4% to 43.7%.
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