By Patrick SvitekThe Texas Tribune
The Texas attorney general's office has opened an investigation into a contested election in the Rio Grande Valley won by a client of Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa two years ago, according to a lawyer for the losing candidate.
Houston attorney Jerad Najvar said Thursday that Attorney General Ken Paxton's office is acting on a criminal complaint filed by his client, Letty Lopez. She lost to Lupe Rivera, Hinojosa's client, by 16 votes in a November 2013 election for a spot on the Weslaco City Commission.
More than a year ago, a visiting judge ruled that some of the votes for Rivera were illegally cast and ordered a new election held as soon as possible, according to local media. Legal wrangling has kept the new election from taking place, and Rivera has remained in office while Hinojosa has defended him in court.
In an interview Friday, Hinojosa said he had no comment about the investigation but questioned the motivations of Najvar, a prominent Republican lawyer who specializes in campaign finance and political law. The case has no doubt provided fodder to the Texas GOP, which has latched on to reports of corruption in the Valley to accuse Democrats of hypocrisy on voting rights.
Lopez's challenge made its way to the attorney general's office via the secretary of state's office, with which she first filed a complaint alleging voter fraud in the original election. In a letter dated May 13, the secretary of state's office asked the attorney general's office to get involved, saying Lopez's complaint "demonstrates that it is likely unlawful voting occurred."
“After review of the submitted documentation, we believe the information regarding offenses warrants a submission for criminal investigation to the Texas Attorney General as the specific allegations described involve potential misdemeanor and felony offenses," Keith Ingram, director of elections in the secretary of state's office, wrote to David Maxwell, Paxton's director of law enforcement.
Asked about the investigation earlier this month, a Paxton spokeswoman would neither confirm or deny it.
Hinojosa's involvement in the election contest has become a focus of the Republican Party of Texas and the Republican National Committee. Both organizations have used it against Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who delivered a speech last month in Houston that called voter fraud a "phantom epidemic."
(For rest of the story, click on link below:)
https://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/24/lawyer-ags-office-probing-election-contest-in/
10 comments:
Gilberto Hinojosa epitomizes political corruption in South Texas. He takes advantage of a poor and illiterate electorate to gain power, and then he takes advantage of that electorate for his personal benefit. Gilberto represents the worst of the worst and is a terrible representative of the RGV; unless you believe NPR has it right, and all officials are corrupt.
Gilerto se rasura la cola, pero no el bigote....QUE ES ESO?!
He even smells like rat.
Luis saenz is his enforcer. Luis saenz has attempted to prosecute every person that has ever tried to expose gilbert hijinks corruption.
Gilberto is the king of corrupt elected officials, everyone knows that. Long live the corrupt king. Cca
The AG should probe its own Ass first; then check-out the other round Asses in this great Lone Star State .
Ken Paxton, our dearest AG was indicted on corruption charges himself, how can he investigate corruption... duh!!!
Tthe Texas AG has been indicted . This Critter has blocked, denied, health plans to the people of Texas. Why? He does not like Obama .he was indicted on federal charges of securities fraud.
As george lopez says this guy is a pvc. Pinche Vato Culero nothing or less.
The D.A. Will be charged as an Assasin roach hit man. He is killing baby roaches with his Stacy-Adams pointed shoes. They will be out-lawed by the Feds..
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