Campaign dollars are being used for criminal defense attorneys is a practice KPRC 2 Investigates first encountered during our investigation into over one thousand pieces of African Art being stored in a Harris County maintenance shed.
It’s a questionable legal practice that others have relied on in the past and one that we have seen recently with the criminal cases involving President Donald Trump and the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
A review of recent campaign finance reports for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Fort Bend County Judge KP George show that both have spent thousands of campaign dollars on criminal defense attorneys.
Filings show Hidalgo made two payments to defense attorney Cordt Akers for a total of $18,500. Akers was brought in by Hidalgo after three of her senior staffers were indicted by a Harris County grand jury in connection to a nearly $11-million outreach contract.
Meanwhile, George has $100,000 in expenditures listed in his campaign finance report. His filing shows $85,000 going to Rusty Hardin and Associates with another $15,000 going to Daniel Lazarine. George is facing a misdemeanor charge, thus far, tied to the criminal misrepresentation of identity case involving his former chief of staff, Taral Patel.
“There is nothing illegal, this is a situation I have to deal with. Once I clear my name, this is going to be taken care of,” Judge George said in a phone call.
KPRC 2 Investigates reached out to Hidalgo’s lawyer who was unable to provide a statement.
