Tag Archives: grand jury

Paxton takes the culture-warrior lead

Well, at least he’s found his calling in life. In the six months before Ken Paxton won election as Texas attorney general last fall, he stayed largely out of sight. Under an ethical cloud amid claims of financial fraud, he … Continue reading

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Paxton could be in real trouble

Whoa. The criminal investigation against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken a more serious turn, with special prosecutors now planning to present a first-degree felony securities fraud case against him to a Collin County grand jury, News 8 has … Continue reading

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More complaints against Paxton

From the Lone Star Project, spotted on the Quorum Report with the original press release forwarded to my inbox: Lone Star Project research has compiled significant information regarding the involvement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a series of … Continue reading

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Ken Paxton continues to be an ethical morass

We continue to learn more about just how compromised our Attorney General is. Ken Paxton earned thousands of dollars by referring his private legal clients to a financial adviser now accused of “unethical and fraudulent conduct” by the state, records … Continue reading

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Grand jury reform bill in trouble

Not good. Six weeks after sailing through the Texas Senate, efforts to reform the state’s controversial grand jury selection system have stalled in the House. A closely watched bill to end the “pick-a-pal” system suffered an unexpected setback late Monday … Continue reading

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Willis recuses himself from Paxton probe

Good call. Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis has asked a judge to relieve him from further involvement in investigations of his friend, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Late Monday, Willis said that earlier in the day, he filed a … Continue reading

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Collin County grand jury interested in Paxton case

Very interesting. A Collin County grand jury has asked the Travis County District Attorney’s office for its investigative file on Ken Paxton, indicating the panel wants to look into the attorney general’s admitted violations of state securities law. “Collin County … Continue reading

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Reforming the grand jury system

Harris County DA Devon Anderson comes out in favor of changing how grand juries are selected. I have been the Harris County district attorney for 17 months now. In that time, one of the most frequently recurring issues I have … Continue reading

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No grand juror information for Perry

Sorry, Rick. A state judge Friday denied former Gov. Rick Perry’s push for a list of people whose grand-jury testimony led to his indictment on abuse-of-power charges. Judge Bert Richardson said the prosecution is not required to produce those names, … Continue reading

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On grand juries

Some folks are trying to change the makeup of grand juries in Harris County. It was a largely black crowd with at least a third of the audience made up of white people and a few anarchists sprinkled in. They … Continue reading

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Possibly the last thing I’m going to say about the Perry indictment for now

Certainly not the last thing I’ll ever say, since there’s a vast amount of the story left to be told, and I reserve the right to change my mind. But for now, since the indictment came down on Friday there’s … Continue reading

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Perry indicted

Wow. A grand jury indicted Gov. Rick Perry on Friday on charges of abuse of power and coercion as part of an ethics inquiry into his veto of funding for the state’s public integrity unit. The inquiry began last summer … Continue reading

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Perry grand jury may be winding down

We are getting close to some action on this. A grand jury looking into whether Gov. Rick Perry abused his power with a veto threat appears closer to wrapping up after current and former Perry staffers were behind closed doors … Continue reading

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AG opinion sought for Perry’s use of taxpayer funds for defense

Interesting. A Democratic House leader has asked for a legal opinion on how and if Gov. Rick Perry can bill taxpayers for his $450-an-hour criminal lawyer defending him in a grand jury probe. Perry is under a grand jury investigation … Continue reading

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Rick Perry really wanted Rosemary Lehmberg to quit

From the Trib. Even after Gov. Rick Perry stripped funding for the agency that prosecutes state public corruption cases, his emissaries worked to swap the resignation of embattled Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg for restoration of the money, several … Continue reading

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The Rick Perry grand jury convenes

Game on. A grand jury was sworn in Monday to look into whether Gov. Rick Perry acted improperly last year when he threatened to kill funding for the Travis County district attorney’s public corruption division unless District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg … Continue reading

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Perry lawyers up

It’s getting real. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has hired a high-profile Austin defense lawyer to represent him in an investigation into whether he illegally withheld money from the Travis County District Attorney’s office. KVUE News and the Austin American-Statesman confirmed … Continue reading

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Complaint #3 against Judge Pratt

Greg Enos does not give up, y’all. With just days before early voting begins in the GOP primary, Webster family lawyer Greg Enos has filed a third criminal complaint against embattled family court Judge Denise Pratt with the Harris County … Continue reading

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Another complaint filed against Judge Pratt

Pretty much needed to be one. Embattled family court Judge Denise Pratt is the subject of another criminal complaint by Webster family lawyer Greg Enos, accusing her of breaking the law by signing orders saying she had given prior notice … Continue reading

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More from the Pratt files

This is just bizarre. Since being cleared last month by a grand jury for backdating records, a family court judge has quietly dismissed hundreds of cases, effectively nullifying a bevy of child support obligations and custody arrangements she previously made … Continue reading

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Judge Pratt gets no-billed

From the inbox: Harris County Grand Jury “No Bills” Judge Denise Pratt “We are pleased that the grand jury agrees with us that there’s absolutely no evidence that Judge Pratt tampered with court documents or did anything illegal,” says her … Continue reading

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Lehmberg beats the rap

Good for her. District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg will remain in her position as the top felony prosecutor in Travis County, visiting Judge David Peeples ruled Wednesday. Lehmberg hugged her supporters in the courtroom after the decision was read, shedding tears. … Continue reading

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Bradford calls for review of HPD oversight

He’s right that something needs to be done to ensure that people feel confident in the system. Houston City Councilman and former Police Chief C.O. “Brad” Bradford said citizens have lost faith in the city’s oversight of the use of … Continue reading

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Perry special prosecutor seeks to hire investigator

Moving right along. The special prosecutor in an ongoing investigation into whether Gov. Rick Perry violated state law by vetoing funding for the Travis County ethics-enforcement unit is seeking to hire an investigator and researcher, the first public hint the … Continue reading

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Grand jury convening in Perry/Lehmberg veto threat case

Can’t wait to see how this turns out. A visiting state district judge began convening a special grand jury Wednesday to consider two possible criminal cases stemming from the April drunken driving arrest of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. … Continue reading

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The Lykos era officially ends

That’s all she wrote. A grand jury scrutinizing former District Attorney Pat Lykos and her administration declined Thursday to indict Lykos regarding allegations of misuse of public resources. The Harris County grand jury’s decision to end its term without action … Continue reading

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FBI looking into DA’s office over grand jury “investigation”

Oh, boy. Eyewitness News learned from people interviewed that the FBI and Texas Rangers are asking questions inside the DA’s office. The questions aren’t about BAT vans, but about the DA and her team and how they reacted once the … Continue reading

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What is an investigation?

Remember when I said that the grand jury saga wasn’t over yet? After denying any investigation into the grand jurors who for six months investigated her office, Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos disclosed that she directed her chief investigator … Continue reading

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Grand jury no-bills DA’s office

Thus endeth one of the most fascinating local stories in recent memory. A Harris County grand jury ended its session Tuesday, ending a months-long investigation into the district attorney’s office and the Houston Police Department’s DWI testing vehicles with a … Continue reading

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Lykos appears before the grand jury

And that’s all we know about it. Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos testified Tuesday in a grand jury investigation of the Houston Police Department’s controversial mobile DWI testing vehicles. Because grand jury subpoenas and testimony are secret, it is … Continue reading

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Lykos subpoenaed

That grand jury keeps stirring things up. A grand jury investigating possible wrongdoing within the DA’s Office has officially subpoenaed DA Pat Lykos. The probe centers around problems with the Houston Police Department’s DWI testing vans. The DA’s Office will … Continue reading

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“It’s all politics!”

The grand jury investigation of the District Attorney’s office over DWI evidence and policies continues to be the most compelling local story right now. A prosecutor who last week refused to answer questions from a grand jury said Monday she … Continue reading

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When prosecutors get in trouble

You know, this grand jury investigation of the Harris County DA’s office is starting to look like a full-fledged scandal. Two Harris County prosecutors are facing contempt charges after a judge learned that members of the District Attorney’s Office were … Continue reading

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Grand jury requests special prosecutor

It’s getting mighty interesting over there. A Houston grand jury that may be investigating the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Houston Police Department’s troubled breath alcohol testing vans has asked for a special prosecutor and an extension of … Continue reading

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