In Major Blow to Attorney General Facing Fraud Charges, Ken Paxton's Trials Moved and Delayed

MCKINNEY — Attorney General Ken Paxton’s upcoming trials will be moved out of Collin County, the judge presiding over his criminal fraud case decided Thursday.The ruling is a major victory for the prosecution, which has for months argued that friends and political allies of Paxton’s have sought to malign them in the court of public opinion here, where the attorney general has lived and worked for decades.Judge George Gallagher ruled Thursday the trials should be moved out of Paxton's backyard, but did not set a location for where they would take place. Paxton’s trials, which were slated to kick off May 1, will also be delayed until a new venue is set.Neither the prosecutors nor Paxton’s attorneys responded to request for comment on the ruling. Gallagher imposed a strict gag order on the parties Wednesday, saying there would be “no more statements to the press.In his ruling, Gallagher did not elaborate on why he sided with the prosecution. But during a Wednesday hearing, he raised ethical concerns about recent lawsuits filed "by folks that have a great deal of control in this county.""We may have a problem here," said Gallagher. "We may have an ethical problem."  Continue reading...