Judge Orders Texas AG Ken Paxton Trial Out of Collin County

A judge on Thursday agreed with a prosecution request to move the trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from Collin County.

At the same time, Judge George Gallagher denied Paxton's motion for dismissal and denied prosecutors' request to delay the trial.

The decisions are a setback for Paxton and mean his trial will almost certainly take place as scheduled in May -- away from his hometown of McKinney and presumably in a county where he is less popular.

Prosecutors had argued that potential jurors in Collin County have been tainted by a public relations campaign mounted by Paxton supporters.

A new location has not been set.

Separately, prosecutors had asked the judge to delay the trial in a dispute over their pay, but Gallagher rejected that request.

The charges against Paxton stem from his time as a state lawmaker in 2011, when he allegedly lined up money for a tech startup called Servergy Inc. without telling investors he was being paid by the company. Paxton has argued that he was under no obligation to do so.