AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is closer to standing trial on criminal fraud charges after the state’s highest appeals court refused to consider dismissing his felony indictments.
Wednesday’s decision exhausts the Republican’s efforts to end the case before trial.
Paxton is accused of misleading wealthy investors he personally recruited for a high-tech startup in 2011, four years before becoming Texas’ top prosecutor. He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.
The ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals comes just days after a federal judge threw out nearly identical civil charges against Paxton.
Special prosecutor Brian Wice says he now looks forward to going to trial “and seeking justice.”
A Paxton spokesman did not immediately comment.
