AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has now raised more than $500,000 to pay for private attorneys who are defending him on criminal securities fraud charges.
Financial statements released Wednesday show that the Republican last year received donations for his legal bills not just from Texas but from individuals and groups in Arizona, Arkansas and Virginia. They include the brother of Republican state Sen. Don Huffines and a suburban Dallas city councilman in Paxton’s hometown of McKinney.
Paxton is prohibited from using taxpayer dollars or campaign contributions to pay for his personal legal defense. He was indicted shortly after taking office in 2015 on charges of misleading investors in a tech startup called Servergy.
He has pleaded not guilty. A judge in Houston has yet to set a new trial date.
(Copyright 2017, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
