The prosecutors in Attorney General Ken Paxton's securities fraud case are asking for a change of venue, arguing they cannot get a fair trial in Collin County.
The prosecutors say Judge George Gallagher should move the case out of Paxton's home county because he and his associates have waged a "22-month siege" against the prosecutors, witnesses and the court. The trial is set to begin May 1.
"Over the course of almost the last two years ... Paxton's posse of spokesmen, supporters, and surrogates — a clique herein collectively referred to as "Team Paxton" — has embarked on a crusade clearly calculated to taint the Collin County jury pool," the prosecutors wrote in a filing Thursday.
The prosecutors cite several examples, including a Paxton supporter's lawsuit against the county to limit prosecutors' pay. Last month, a Dallas appeals court stopped payments to the prosecutors as a result of the lawsuit.
Paxton is accused of misleading investors in a company before he became the state's top lawyer. He has denied any wrongdoing in both the criminal case unfolding in Collin County and a similar, civil case at the federal level.
