FORT BEND, Texas – The most powerful man in Fort Bend County found himself on the other side of a criminal courtroom on Monday afternoon.
County Judge KP George made his first appearance before a judge following his indictment last month for two felony money laundering cases. He and his attorneys did not spend much time in court, as the brief appearance lasted only a few minutes.
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The process is a routine procedure after someone has been charged with a crime. However, one distinct difference in this appearance is that no cameras were allowed to capture video of what was taking place in the courtroom.
Once George emerged, he did not show much concern, even though a felony conviction in Texas would force a public official out of office.
George’s attorneys, Jared Woodfill and Terry Yates, presented a motion to recuse the judge in the case, citing the close ties he not only has with the court system, but also because he interacts with courthouse personnel to deal with funding of the judicial system in one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation.
After his brief appearance, Woodfill addressed the media, claiming George was the target of a political witch hunt by the Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton, a member of George’s own political party.
Woodfill also added that the DA’s office cannot be impartial in this case, as it proceeds while adding that George was denied his due process.
The bottom line for Woodfill this is a case more suited for the Texas Ethics Commission than a court of law, and the DA’s office got it wrong.
When 2 Investigates asked if the Texas Rangers, who were involved in the investigation, also got it wrong? Woodfill said, “Yeah, absolutely, I think they got it wrong because if you go and you look, you’ll probably see it all and look at it, it actually talks about ifs, mays, might, maybe, but there is absolutely no link that I’ve seen,” said Woodfill.
What is the DA’s office saying in response?
“I think they should probably look at the evidence before they make those decisions, and they have not at this point,” said Wesley Wittig, a member of Middleton’s leadership team.
It’s also important to note that George’s former chief of staff, Taral Patel, pleaded guilty to a social media hoax scandal just last month, where he admitted he misrepresented his identity and attacked himself and his opponent to get sympathy votes, according to prosecutors.
Patel, in his documented admission of guilt, said clearly that he: “Freely and voluntarily confess[ed] that [he] did commit the offense of MISREPRESENT IDENTITY/CANDIDATE in Fort Bend County, Texas, on or about 09/26/2022 along with Kyle Prasad George.”
Once again, we did press Judge George for his side of the story to share with the Fort Bend County residents, but George remained silent.
The county judge will be back in court on June 26, 2025.
