Dismissals

We learned this in the featured photo yesterday from the Chron:

Criminal cases against at least two of County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former employees have been dismissed by the Office of the Attorney General, nearly two weeks since District Attorney Sean Teare recused himself of the prosecutions.

Prosecutors under Attorney General Ken Paxton, who joined the case last April, filed motions Wednesday to dismiss Aaron Dunn and Wallis Nader’s respective charges of misuse of official information, tampering with records, their lawyers confirmed. The 2022 charges stemmed from accusations that Dunn and Nader, while working for Hidalgo as advisers, handed a $11 million COVID-19 contract to Elevate Strategies, a bidder with Democratic ties and little public health experience, after giving them insider information. 

The dismissals, which a judge later signed, cite “interest of justice” in their decision to end the prosecution. 

“We are pleased that the criminal charges against Aaron Dunn have been dismissed,” Dunn’s attorney, Derek Hollingsworth, said in a statement. “This brings an end to a politically motivated prosecution that never should have been brought to court.”

The same charges against Alex Triantaphyllis remain pending, records show. He is slated to return to court in February.

And this:

The contract itself sparked scrutiny as a former Republican commissioner, Jack Cagle, challenged Hidalgo on the winning bid. He went on to lodge a complaint, prompting an investigation by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office with hundreds of hours of help from the state Republican Party’s general counsel.

Subpoenas and multiple grand jury sessions followed, along with Texas Rangers-led search warrants aimed at Hidalgo’s office and the homes of targeted aides as the county judge vied for a second term in office, which she won. Lawyers for Hidalgo and her aides maintained their innocence throughout the investigation, contending the insider records passed to Elevate Strategies owner Felicity Pererya, also a political consultant, was done so by mistake as she expressed interest in another contract. 

Former district attorney Kim Ogg held up the so-called Elevate Strategies investigation as a symbol that her former office was holding public officials to task. Her targets, however, considered the prosecutions more akin to a smear campaign.

Hidalgo, herself, has declared the prosecution the result of Ogg’s “dirty politics.” 

On Wednesday, the county judge briefly addressed the dismissals as proof of Nader and Dunn’s integrity.

“I’m glad everyone else can see that now too,” Hidalgo said. 

Ogg refused to discuss the dismissals and other matters when reached at the Harris County Administration Building, where she now works. She then called a Chronicle reporter “biased” as she walked outside.

Here is the entire read: 2 former Lina Hidalgo employees’ criminal cases dismissed.

I don’t know why former DA Ogg would call the Chron reporter “biased.” I don’t detect a hint of bias in the entire story.

We still have one individual facing charges, so we can’t say the whole thing was “dirty politics.” We will have to wait and see.

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There are 30 teams in the NBA and our Houston Rockets have the third best record this morning. The hard copy Chron Sports Section headline yesterday was “we feel we can beat anybody” by Rocket forward Amen Thompson. Amen to that.