AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the judge presiding over his upcoming criminal trial to step aside after moving the case out of the Republican’s hometown.
State District Judge George Gallagher made the decision Tuesday after special prosecutors argued they couldn’t get a fair trial in the conservative Dallas suburb of McKinney, where Paxton lives. Paxton was indicted in 2015 on felony securities fraud charges over allegations he duped investors in a tech startup.
Gallagher says he chose Harris County in part because attorneys on both sides are based in Houston.
But Paxton’s lawyers said in a court filing Tuesday that they won’t give the consent required by state law for a judge to remain on a case after transferring it elsewhere.
Gallagher did not immediately respond to the filing.