Paxton Indictment

Discussion in 'West Mall' started by Crockett, Aug 2, 2015.

  1. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    An indictment on Ken Paxton is supposed to be "unsealed" Monday, but enough of it has leaked out that it led the DFW 10 p.m. Saturday news and two stories on the front of the Dallas Morning News.

    The allegation are of securities fraud. Paxton earned commissions (one report I saw was 30percent) for business referrals even though he had no securities license. I'm also reading that he didn't disclosed to his clients that he was receiving commissions and presented that he, himself, was an investor, though he wasn't.

    What I'm really curious about now is "How legit were the investments?" If the investors got hosed and Paxton walked away with a lot of cash, I think he could take a big political hit, even with acquittal.
     
  2. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    Full Disclosure - I know Ken Paxton. I wouldn't call him a friend, but I would call him a friendly acquaintance, and I am good friends with several people who work for him (campaign and on state payroll). I don't want to see him go down, because it will harm those people, who have no connection to the allegations.

    Having said that, I'm pretty disappointed in him. He pleaded ignorance and paid a civil fine related to this issue last year, but if a felony case is being brought, there's likely evidence that he wasn't as ignorant as one might have assumed. Prediction - Paxton will claim innocence and that the case is politically motivated. The complaint was filed by a liberal activist and undoubtedly was politically motivated, but an indictment brought by a special prosecutor in a very conservative venue is highly unlikely to be politically motivated.

    One ironic twist - the GOP has been doing everything it can to remove public integrity cases away from the Travis County DA's office, because it operated in a partisan manner. However, they were also able to exploit that fact by questioning the legitimacy of the prosecutions, which basically made everybody assume GOP politicians were innocent of ethics charges. Since this matter isn't being brought by the Travis County DA's office, it's kinda hard for them to make that claim. Maybe they should be careful of what they wish for.
     
  3. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    The Paxton camp's attacks on the prosecutors in this case have been vicious, personal and smelling of bs. When the defense is to attack, I'm suspecting the particulars of this case are pretty damning.

    Here is a link to a liberal take on it from Juanita Jean. http://crooksandliars.com/2015/07/oh-yall-really

     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2015
  4. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    It's the liberal take on it, but it's mostly accurate. If Paxton is trying to make this look like a retribution case brought by criminal defense lawyers, that's absurd. I would take issue with the claim that criminal defense attorneys "love" Paxton, but they don't have an ax to grind with him.

    And again, Paxton has been indicted by a Collin County grand jury. That means a group that's probably dominated by 60-year old white dudes who are probably almost exclusively Republicans who like and voted for Paxton (and therefore hostile to criminal defense attorneys) thought the case should move forward.
     
  5. zork

    zork 2,500+ Posts

    Wonder what Tom Delay thinks about it?
     
  6. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    I'm guessing Delay may be less than sympathetic. One of the persons attacked was his defense attorney. Also, the indictments against Delay were for actions that advanced the conservative political agenda. The allegations against Paxton are for illegal behaviors that were strictly for personal benefit.
     
  7. zork

    zork 2,500+ Posts

    Did Delay end up deserving his indictment?
     
  8. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    Since Delay was convicted (I know it was reversed upon appeal) then an indictment was appropriate. Grand Jurors don't determine guilt or innocence, just whether evidence merits a trial. Prosecutors have discretion to drop charges, work out pleas, etc. and a trial court is able to give careful consideration of evidence and operate in proceedings where defense attorneys can cross examine. Grand juries typically only get verbal arguments from prosecutors. Defense can send letters, but only testify if the grand jurors request to hear from them.
     
  9. zork

    zork 2,500+ Posts

    ok. didn't realize Delay had only won his appeal. my bad. I hadn't been following too closely once the damage had been done.
     
  10. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    FWIW, there are an increasing number of people getting pen time in this State for securities-related conduct, even when the underlying security was legitimate. There are also some who have gotten time on what really looked from the record as more of a business squabble best left to a civil court.

    In the cases I know of from work we did for clients in the post-conviction realm, the evidence was far less damning than has been leaked in the Paxton case...and none of them had prior history beyond traffic tickets, so I dare opine that Paxton has very real potential exposure to pen time. Am guessing TDCJ would have to send him someplace else under Compact...not unique in the extremely high-profile cases...
     
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  11. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    That's interestng mc227. It's funny, I remember learning in government class that pen time was a much more serious deterrent to white collar crime than it is for crimes of violence. The white collar guys are calculating. Most criminals (at least the ones who get caught) tend to have poor impulse control and haven't thought about costs and consequences.

    This WFAA report from Channel 8 in Dallas is the most comprehensive look at the indictment I've found. http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/loca...al-ken-paxton-to-be-indicted-monday/30989247/
     
  12. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    The prosecution of this sort of thing at the State level is increasing...so in the past, there was no real consequence to worry about as long as you could stay off the federal radar. The AUSA wasn't looking for it and never seemed happy to have the SEC plop some boring financial crap on their desk unless it had more than six zeros in the loss amount. The ramping up seems to have started around the time of the mortgage meltdown...either that or someone read up on Billy Sol Estes ;)
     
  13. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    I'd be shocked if the appellate courts actually let Paxton go to prison. If he's guilty, then I hope they do, but somehow I just don't see it happening. They'll find some basis to overturn the conviction on appeal like they did with Tom DeLay.
     
  14. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    A friend of mine's a lawyer that's been involved in the situation for a long time. If half what he says is true, I'm happy to see this guy go away for a while.
     
  15. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    This isn't a good sign for Paxton.

    "There are issues in this matter that make my continued representation something I don't want to personally persist in." For those who don't know, this is legalese for "This client is such a MFer that I can't stand to sit in the same room with him even if I'm getting $850 per hour and millions worth of free publicity and advertising to do so."

    And why is Cathie Adams praying for Paxton? I think the appropriate prayer is that justice be done, not that Paxton walks.
     
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  16. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    Does it ever get to the point where Abbott steps in and asks for his resignation? Or are they just in the same "bros before indictments" overly-politicized boat? You'd think at some point, the state GOP (which is supposed to be the barometer of Texan morality, according to them) would just distance themselves from Paxton.
     
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  17. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    Or..."Look, I figured out what is in these thousands upon thousands of pages that we got from Brian and Kent and my client is still such a lying piece of crap that I absolutely cannot put him on the stand...but since he insists on a trial, I refuse to suborn perjury, thus ethically I must step down from this case..."
     
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  18. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    OK, probably that too.
     
  19. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    I started a thread about this earlier. People nowadays seem to stand by "their guy" no matter what. They just attack the accusers and dismiss the prosecution as political, while ignoring the evidence. It's really sad and frankly, dangerous.

    Abbott won't get tangled up in this. If he calls on him to resign now, the hardcore conservatives will throw a ****-fit, lump him in with Joe Straus (whom they view as a borderline Marxist), etc. I'm sure Abbott's hope is that if Paxton gets convicted, he'll step down voluntarily.

    Of course, if this was a Democratic AG, the Legislature would be in a special session considering impeachment articles as we speak.
     
  20. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    "Brownie, you are doing a heck of a job."

    Ring any bells?

    Ok, so it was federal and not a State-level position, but there is a tendency of those in charge to overlook the shortcomings of those below them...
     
  21. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    http://www.texasobserver.org/how-does-texas-end-up-with-ken-paxton/

    Wow...

     
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  22. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    At best, Paxton's judgment is gravely flawed. At worst he's as dirty as a $2 *****.
     
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  23. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    Initially I just thought his judgment was poor. If you're not the right kind of lawyer and are a little loose with your ethics, I can see how someone might screw up the way he did. However, after reading PH's link, it's clear that he has exploited every opportunity he could to profit off of his office. He represents everything wrong with politics. He isn't dumb. He's a crook.
     
  24. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

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