Report: Federal grand jury seated in trial against impeached Ken Paxton
A new report says a federal grand jury is hearing testimony from witnesses close to impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Austin American-Statesman says federal prosecutors have seated that grand jury in San Antonio.
Paxton’s impeachment trial is now less than a month away, slated to start September 5.
New reporting suggests a federal investigation, that mirrors some of the allegations in the impeachment, could be close to an indictment.
The Texas Senate chamber is already morphing to be trial-ready, but another legal challenge for Paxton is reportedly looming.
The Austin American-Statesman reported Thursday that "federal prosecutors have seated a grand jury in San Antonio and called witnesses close to impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to testify."
Paxton has been under federal investigation since October 2020.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s securities fraud trial to wait until end of impeachment trial
Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s years-delayed trial on securities fraud charges will have to wait until his separate impeachment trial is concluded, lawyers and the judge in the case said Thursday.
That’s when his top aides accused him of bribery and abusing his office to help a campaign donor, Nate Paul.
Paul, a real estate investor, was indicted in June, accused of making false statements to financial institutions.
Paxton was not named in that indictment.
The GOP-led state House’s May impeachment of Paxton came after he agreed to pay a $3.3 million-settlement to some of the former staffers who accused him of corruption.
House impeachment investigators say the request to spend taxpayer dollars to settle triggered their investigation into the accusations against him.
In February, it was learned the Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department took over the federal investigation into Paxton from prosecutors in Texas.
The unit specializes in prosecuting elected officials.
At that time, prosecutors in Texas believed they had sufficient evidence for an indictment.
Paxton and his attorneys were just in court last week for a hearing on the years-delayed security fraud trial against him.
"I’ve never seen what’s happened in this case happen in other cases, I mean, over and over again," Paxton’s attorney, Dan Cogdell said.
Although they defended their client, his attorneys acknowledged a loss in the September impeachment trial, which would boot Paxton from office, could lead to a settlement in his securities case.
The Statesman reported it wasn’t clear when this grand jury began meeting, but usually, at this stage, a result can come quickly, whether that’s an indictment or not.