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Rep. Dawnna Dukes Will Seek to Have Some Charges Against Her Dismissed

Via Texas Tribune

State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, will ask a Travis County judge on Wednesday to dismiss four of the 13 felony counts against her. 

Dukes' attorneys filed a motion arguing that the four counts of tampering with a government record — which stem from travel vouchers she submitted in 2013 and 2014 — should be dismissed because the statute of limitations had lapsed before Dukes was indicted in January. 

Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore said Wednesday's hearing will only focus on the motion filed by Dukes' attorneys. 

ATravis County grand jury indicted Dukes on 13 counts of tampering with a governmental record, a felony punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. These charges are based on allegations that Dukes made false entries on travel vouchers to obtain money for expenses she was not entitled to, Moore said in January a news release.

Two separate indictments were also handed down for abuse of official capacity by a public servant, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. These "relate to allegations that Rep. Dukes misused public funds for her personal gain and that she converted campaign funds to personal use," Moore said.

Dukes, an 11-term representative, previously said in a Facebook post that she will plead not guilty on all charges.

Dukes referred questions about the case to her attorneys and said she is focused on her legislative duties, particularly helping to draft the Department of Family and Protective Services budget through her role on the House Appropriations Committee.

"It is of utmost importance to my constituents, children of Texas, Appropriations Committee, and the Texas House that my full and unequivocal focus is to details at the Legislature," she said in a written statement.

One of Dukes' lawyers, Shaun Clarke, declined to comment on the case "now that it is in active litigation." 

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From The Texas Tribune

Alex Samuels is a newsletters fellow for The Texas Tribune and a journalism senior at The University of Texas at Austin. Alex has worked for USA Today College since her sophomore year and has been a collegiate correspondent and their first-ever breaking news correspondent. She also worked as an editorial intern for the Daily Dot where she covered politics, race, and social issues.
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