Prosecutors say jury pool for Texas AG's fraud trial tainted

Source: Associated Press



THURSDAY, FEB 9, 2017 03:15 PM EST

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s upcoming trial on securities fraud charges should be moved from his hometown, special prosecutors said Thursday, claiming the jury pool has been tainted by Republican supporters and even former presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

Paxton is awaiting trial in May on felony charges of defrauding wealthy investors in a tech startup. He has pleaded not guilty and faces 5 to 99 years in prison if convicted of either of the first-degree securities fraud counts against him.

The trial is scheduled to take place in Collin County, a conservative Dallas suburb where Paxton lives and where a grand jury indicted him in 2015. But prosecutors told state District Judge George Gallagher that a “two-year long crusade” of lawsuits, social media posts, leaks and a public relations blitz surrounding the case has made it impossible to get a fair and impartial trial.

Paxton’s attorneys chafed at the accusations and said the trial should go nowhere. “That these prosecutors are somehow painting themselves as ‘victims’ of some nonexistent conspiracy is extremely telling,” Paxton attorney Dan Cogdell said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.salon.com/2017/02/09/prosecutors-say-jury-pool-for-texas-ags-fraud-trial-tainted/