RICHMOND, Texas (Covering Katy News) - To use a sports analogy, Judge KP George's legal defense came out of the locker room with a noticeably different second-half strategy as he is now in the fight of his life to save his political career following two felony money laundering indictments last week.
Texas law prohibits any person convicted of a felony from being a candidate for public office or holding any public office position. His previous charge was a misdemeanor for allegedly participating in a scheme to sway an election by posting fake racist comments to generate sympathy for him and a phony stench over the campaign of his opponent.
It seems that George's days of running from TV reporters are over. Knowing reporters would be at Tuesday's Commissioner's Court meeting to ask about his two new felony money laundering indictments, he called an audible and changed his game plan. In the first half, he scurried away from reporters who were asking questions. Avoiding questions was not a positive look.
On Tuesday, he did not run, but he did call two newly hired, very aggressive lawyers and they held a news conference with the judge standing quietly by their side. George did not speak but his lawyers each made the case that his most recent indictment is political retribution.
"When he's voted on certain budgets, he is not with a certain faction of the Democratic Party," attorney Jared Woodfill said. "And so what they want to do now is take him out and put in someone who shares their values and beliefs."
George recently voted with Republicans to review voter precincts and see if they comply with the law. It's something required by law and Republicans say the county is out of compliance because the review has not been timely. But, the move opens the door to a possible redistricting of the entire county, something the Democrats seem opposed to doing.
But District Attorney Brian Middleton has been investigating George for months. His case to the grand jury would likely have been made long before George's recent vote on reviewing voter precincts. Middleton and George are both Democrats, and the district attorney says the charges against George are not political.
"Our office remains committed to the integrity our public deserves, and the ethics to which all prosecutors are sworn to," said Democratic District Attorney Brian Middleton's office in a statement. "Our investigation remains ongoing."
But George's attorneys say the money laundering charges are related to how George funded his campaign. They say if he made mistakes they don't rise to the level of felony money laundering charges.
"This man is innocent," defense attorney Terry Yates said. "He's done nothing wrong. Nothing criminally wrong."
Republican Commissioner Vincent Morales and Democratic Commissioner Dexter McCoy are calling on George to resign.
The longest-serving member of Commissioner's Court, Grady Prestage, has not commented publicly.
The second longest-serving member, Commissioner Andy Meyers, declined to be interviewed when approached by reporters on Tuesday, but he did provide a written statement, anticipating that he'd be asked if George should resign.
"The money laundering charges against Judge KP George are indeed concerning," Meyers wrote. "I am also a firm believer in the principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty, an important cornerstone of our U.S. legal system. My position is the same as it was when he was indicted the first time on misdemeanor charges last year. If Judge George knows he had committed wrongdoing he should immediately resign. If he believes he's done nothing wrong he deserves his day in court."