Several sources have confirmed that a grand jury has secretly charged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for felony charges on Tuesday. These three counts of his indictment will be revealed in McKinney this Monday. They have already assigned a Tarrant County judge to rule over the case. Fifty-two-year-old Paxton can then proceed to being photographed, fingerprinted and being formally booked into jail after the indictments are unsealed.
The exact reason why Paxton will be indicted is still debatable although the grand jury believes that he has violated securities laws, USA Today reported.
Two counts of first-degree securities fraud and a single count of third-degree failure to register are are charged against Paxton. These are related to soliciting from clients and investors from two companies during his term as a member of the Texas House of Representatives way before November 2014 when he was then seated as attorney general.
The Texas Ranger Division members began investigating the case. Two Houston defense lawyers, Kent A. Schaffer and Brian Wice were tasked by a judge as the case's district attorneys. They uncovered first-degree securities fraud committed by Paxton. Paxton is allegedly encouraging investors to invest in Servergy Inc., a technology company, without telling them that he makes a commission in every investment made. Some of the investors who were lured were Paxton's friends and Byron Cook, a Texas House Representative, according to the New York Times.
Paxton's supporters believe that this indictment has this is an effort to halt his rising political career. They compared the similarity of this case to Gov. Rick Perry's that seems to look like a political witch hunt.
According to Cal Jillson, a professor of political science from the Southern Methodist University, "These are very different cases. With Perry, it was an ambiguous indictment of a legitimate political act of a governor in a line-item veto. We could argue plausibly that this was a political vendetta because he did only what every other governor does." He added, "That simply doesn't work in the Paxton case. These are actual crimes that are being alleged. Felony crimes of financial misbehavior.", reported by the Texas Tribune.
Paxton is also known for suing the Obama administration regarding immigration, environmental issues, and same-sex benefits, Huffington Post added.
