Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, agreed to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution on Tuesday under a deal cut with federal prosecutors to terminate fraud charges that have been leveraged against him for nine years. Paxton had pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors announced the decision in a Houston courtroom just weeks before Paxton was set to face trial, where he could have faced 99 years in prison if found guilty.
Paxton’s attorney, Dan Cogdell, told Fox News Digital following the announcement that “the state finally realized that they could not prove the charges and simply made us an offer that I could not in good faith advise my client to turn down.”
“Anytime a prosecutor offers clear path to have all the charges against a client of mine dismissed, I am going to recommend they take that path. Only a fool would do otherwise,” he said.
EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR DETAILS SURFACE IN HISTORIC IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON
Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, sits with his attorneys Dan Cogdell, right, and Tony Buzbee, left, during his impeachment trial in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)
Cogdell said in a press conference Tuesday that Paxton is “happy to comply with the agreement” and avoid a federal trial.
“We’re glad to have this behind us. Eighteen months from now, or perhaps shorter, the case will be dismissed. There will never be a conviction, and Ken Paxton, at least today, can begin to go back and do what he should have been doing all along and that is representing the state of Texas.”
“This was a case we knew in fact from the beginning they couldn’t prove … on year nine, we still know they couldn’t prove,” Cogdell said. “You don’t go to trial to prove your innocence, the Constitution says the exact opposite of that.”
TEXAS AG PAXTON ACQUITTED ON ALL IMPEACHMENT CHARGES: ‘THE TRUTH PREVAILED’
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In July 2015, before he became the state’s top law enforcement officer, Paxton was indicted on charges of allegedly misleading and defrauding wealthy tech startup investors and failing to disclose that the startup was paying him to promote its assets.
A Texas grand jury indicted Paxton on two counts of first-degree securities fraud and a charge of not registering. Paxton was also fined in 2014 for not disclosing to Texas securities regulators that he was getting commissions for soliciting investors.
TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON IMPEACHMENT TRIAL, ARGUES ‘ESTABLISHMENT RINOS’ WANT TO ‘UNDO’ ELECTION
The exterior of the Texas State Capitol is seen on Sept. 5, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The deal that gets Paxton off the hook, which requires him to pay full restitution to victims and complete 100 community service hours and 15 hours of legal education classes, is the second legal victory for the AG in recent months.
In September 2023, Paxton was acquitted of all impeachment articles filed against him for corruption and unfitness for office. He had faced accusations that he misused his political power to help real estate developer Nate Paul — allegations that stemmed from a lawsuit filed by four former employees who reported him to the FBI.
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Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
