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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was arrested Monday morning and booked in Collin County on three felony count securities law violations.
Paxton turned himself in McKinney north of Dallas.
The booking procedure, which took place outside the media’s sight, included getting fingerprinted and having his mugshot taken by jail personnel. Paxton also was expected to sign three personal recognizance bonds before being released.
An indictment issued last week by a Collin County grand jury is expected to be unsealed around noon Monday, giving the public its first glimpse of the felony charges — two counts of first-degree securities fraud and one count of third-degree failure to register with the State Securities Board. The violations took place before Paxton became attorney general in January, authorities said.
Paxton’s mugshot was released to the public drawing inevitable comparisons to booking photos of then-U.S. Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who chose a wide smile in 2005, and then-Gov. Rick Perry, who wore a genial smile last year.
The arraignment, at which when the charges will be read aloud and Paxton will enter his plea, will take place sometime in the coming weeks.
Paxton’s lawyers can file motions seeking to dismiss the indictment and the charges while preparing for a possible trial.
“If he chooses to fight this, which I expect he will vehemently, he will then seek a trial to prove that he did not commit the offenses that he’s been charged with,” said David Owens, a former Tarrant County assistant district attorney now in private practice as a criminal defense lawyer.
Owens also expects Paxton’s lawyers to challenge the indictment and the charges. “I think he is going to fight tooth and nail because of the nature of this case,” he said. “He’s going to pull out the legal stops.”
The two first-degree felonies are punishable by up to life in prison, “the same as a murder charge,” Owens said.
Paxton’s lawyer, Joe Kendall, said Saturday that he will follow instructions from state District Judge George Gallagher, a Fort Worth Republican and a 15-year judge appointed to handle Paxton’s case, who has asked prosecutors and defense lawyers to refrain from publicly commenting on the case.
The two appointed special prosecutors, Houston defense lawyers Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, will not be in Collin County and said Monday that they will not comment on the case.
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