In case you missed it
The cases relate to a COVID-19 vaccine outreach contract between Harris County and Elevate Strategies that was forged in June 2021 and terminated in September 2021, as previously reported by Community Impact. By March 2022, the Texas Rangers executed search warrants at locations across Harris County to obtain electronic devices belonging to Harris County officials.
The cases have since been indicted by a Harris County jury, Ogg said April 25.
What’s happening?
On April 25, Ogg said she decided to involve the Attorney General’s Office to “safeguard the public's interest and trust” in government. She said this is not a recusal of her office.
“Unfortunately, locally elected prosecutors like myself face enormous challenges when prosecuting public corruption cases, because political retaliation is very real, as we have seen,” Ogg said.
Shane Attaway, a division chief for the Texas Attorney General’s Office, said his office will be assisting the Harris County DA’s Office and the Texas Rangers on these cases. He also said his office plans to bring the cases before Harris County juries “when the time is right.”
“Because these are indicted cases and ... ongoing investigations, we will not be discussing any details of the investigation or the cases today,” Attaway said.
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Stay tuned
In the March Democratic primary elections, Ogg lost her bid for re-election against challenger Sean Teare. Teare will be facing the Republican candidate, Dan Simons, for the district attorney position in November.
In response to a media question on whether the newly elected DA can take the case back from the Attorney General’s Office after assuming office, Ogg said that decision would be up to a judge.
“At this point, we've got almost eight months to go before my term of office ends, before the time [these cases are] tried,” Ogg said. “They've been pending for some time. The public wants to know the answers, and I'm looking to the Attorney General's Office to pick it up where we left off.”
Quote of note
“Our outgoing district attorney’s decision to hand over the Elevate Strategies case to [the Attorney General’s Office] is a new low for Kim Ogg,” said Rodney Ellis, Harris County Precinct 1 commissioner, in an April 25 news release. “The future of three young public servants, who were already derailed by this political witch hunt, has now been handed over to a hyper-partisan office with an axe to grind.”
