During a hearing in Fort Worth, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pled not guilty to felony charges he faces for financial fraud.
During the arraignment Judge George Gallagher granted a motion by Paxton’s defense attorney Joe Kendall to step down from the case. According to reports Kendall said there were differences that arose which made representation impossible.
The 52-year-old Texas republican was charged earlier this month with two counts of first-degree securities fraud involving more than $100,000 and a third-degree felony for failure to register with the Texas Securities Board, which Paxton was fined $1,000 for in 2014.
In a statement, Paxton said he said he was innocent of these charges.
"It is a travesty that some would attempt to hijack our system of justice to achieve political ends they could not accomplish at the ballot box," Paxton said.