Paxton’s legal woes are so extensive that it’s easy to lose the thread. So let’s recap how the securities fraud allegations started. In 2015, former state Rep. Byron Cook, who used to be friends with Paxton, and Florida businessman Joel Hochberg complained that Paxton had defrauded them by persuading them to invest in a company without revealing that he was being paid by that startup. A Texas Rangers investigation led to felony charges against Paxton. Those charges are still pending.
“Despite counsel’s good faith efforts to confer over the past five months, Paxton’s counsel will not provide dates for Paxton’s deposition,” attorneys for Cook and Hochberg wrote in a July 13 court filing. That brings us to another troubling aspect about the handling of this lawsuit. Paxton’s first deposition in 2019 remains confidential — for “attorneys’ eyes only,” per Wheless.
Two justices in the Fifth Court of Appeals raised concerns last year about the fact that Wheless’ court had not actually ruled on the motion to seal.
I really wish JusticeOIG would get on this.