On Monday, October 7, 2024, Click2Houston.com reported that the attorney representing Fort Bend County Judge KP George filed a motion to dismiss an indictment against him. The indictment, issued by a grand jury on September 26, pertains to a Class A misdemeanor charge of misrepresenting the identity of a candidate.
The allegations against George involve claims of a coordinated social media impersonation alongside his former chief of staff, Taral Patel. Patel was arrested in June on a felony charge related to online misrepresentation in connection with a social media hoax. During his successful re-election campaign in 2022, George asserted that he was subject to “racist and xenophobic” attacks. However, it is alleged that he and Patel collaborated on certain social media posts to elicit sympathy and support from voters. Reports indicate that one of the accounts involved in these posts operated under the screen name “Antonio Scalywag.”
On October 3, George’s attorney, Chad Dick, filed the motion to dismiss, contending that the state did not adhere to a crucial provision of Article III of the Texas Constitution. According to court documents, the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office lacked the authority to initiate a criminal prosecution in this case because a trial court had not made a final determination regarding the matter from the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC).
Court records detail that a sworn complaint was filed with the TEC just two days prior to the indictment, and the prosecutor did not allow the commission to begin its administrative process or exhaust available remedies. The motion argues that the Texas Legislature intended for the TEC to have exclusive jurisdiction over offenses related to campaign law violations, and thus, administrative remedies must be exhausted before criminal charges can be filed against a political candidate.
In response, the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement addressing George’s motion. They asserted that his claims regarding the prosecution’s constitutionality are premature, as a recent opinion from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is still under appeal and has not yet reached a final resolution. The DA’s office emphasized that local district attorneys hold exclusive authority to prosecute legal violations within their jurisdictions, contrasting this with the notion of centralized control from Austin over local election enforcement.
The investigation into the allegations against KP George is ongoing, and the District Attorney’s Office reiterated its commitment to the case. They also noted the importance of adhering to legal ethics, which restrict both parties from making public statements that could influence court proceedings. The DA’s office plans to present its arguments in court while trusting that George’s legal team will do the same.
Source: Click2Houston.com
