Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's long-awaited securities fraud trial set for April

HOUSTON — After a short deliberation in a Houston courtroom Monday, Attorney General Ken Paxton's long-awaited securities fraud case was scheduled to go to trial April 15.

The hearing in Harris County District Court Judge Andrea Beall's chamber lasted shy of 30 minutes before both Paxton's team and prosecutors agreed on the April date, with a pretrial conference scheduled for February.

Paxton was elected as the state's top law enforcement officer in 2014 and subsequently indicted on three felony securities fraud charges. The case has remained in a perpetual state of delay for eight years.

In the oldest of Paxton's legal troubles, the attorney general is accused of failing to register as a securities adviser and defrauding investors in a Dallas-area tech startup by not disclosing that he was being paid by the company, Servergy, to recruit them.

Paxton did not address the court or reporters Monday, sitting quietly in the first row of public seating as he waited, along with other defendants, for the outcome of the brief and informal discussion between the two parties.

As the room cleared with Paxton's exit, special prosecutors Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer told members of the media they expect additional pretrial motions to be filed before an early February deadline and that it is due time for the accusations against Paxton to be laid out before an unbiased jury.

The duo then decried the Texas Senate's impeachment trial, in which Paxton was acquitted in September of 16 charges accusing him of abusing the power of his office, and called out the trial's presiding officer, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, for accepting a $3 million political contribution from the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, which has been one of Paxton's most ardent supporters.

"Unlike the impeachment, this is going to be a fair trial," Schaffer said, condemning Patrick and the Senate. "This judge is not corrupt; this judge is not on the take; nobody's going to be giving Judge Beall $3 million."

The special prosecutors, who have largely worked without pay on account of disagreements with the original court of jurisdiction in Collin County, will continue without a resolution on the payment question because Beall did not rule on the matter, though she is expected to in the coming months.

Issues of prosecutors' pay and disagreements on the venue for the trial, which finally settled in Harris County, have been the main contributors to delays in the proceedings.

Wice and Schaffer argued that withholding and disagreeing on pay for prosecutors has been an effective stall tactic for Paxton's team through the years.

"So again, the bottom line is they knew the only way to derail this prosecution was to defund it," Wice said, chiding Paxton for receiving special treatment through the proceedings. "And you know, it's good to be the king."

Agreeing with the prosecution, Philip Hilder, one of Paxton's attorneys, said he also expects a fair trial and jury in Beall's courtroom.

However, he took the prosecution's interest in reaching a payment agreement as self-serving, putting the onus on Wice and Schaffer for the trial's creeping pace.

"It's 'show me the money'; it's all about the money to them," Hilder said. "That's why this case has been delayed from the get-go."

Before Paxton was acquitted in the Senate, there was some speculation on whether he would be interested in settling the case in hopes of avoiding removal from office and then facing the possible revocation of his law license if convicted on the felony charges.

However, with Paxton retaining his spot as attorney general, which does not require him to hold a law license, the trial appears to be moving ahead with Paxton standing on more solid ground after the Senate voted in his favor last month.

Hilder said he doesn't think the impeachment trial outcome changes the outlook of Paxton's securities fraud case.

During the impeachment trial, four articles tied to Paxton's securities dealings were held in abeyance and ultimately thrown out as the chamber voted along party lines to acquit.

Two attorneys representing Paxton in the felony case, Dan Cogdell and Anthony Osso, also served on his impeachment defense team.

Hesitant to look ahead to a possible verdict, Wice told reporters that the outcome is unclear and decisions on Paxton's guilt or innocence and how that affects his job will come in time.

"Just trust me: We'll drive off that bridge when we get there," Wice said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's securities fraud trial set for April