HOUSTON – Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg made a major announcement Thursday afternoon in the case against County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s staffers.
Ogg officially announced her decision to hand over the Elevate Strategies case to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Office following election results in March.
“People hate public corruption and it’s the District Attorney’s duty to never sweep it under the rug,” Ogg said.
The indictments in bid-rigging investigations
Alex Triantaphyllis, Wallis Nader and Aaron Dunn were indicted in an investigation in the spring of 2022 surrounding an $11,000,000 COVID-19 outreach contract awarded to Elevate Strategies. Triantaphyllis was Hidalgo’s former Chief of Staff, while Nader was her Policy Director and Dunn was a Senior Advisor.
Elevate Strategies was a one-person organization recommended by County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s staffers despite other entities achieving higher scores on the internal evaluations. It was awarded the multi-million dollar contract by the county.
Hidalgo staffers are accused of waiving typical financial fitness requirements during the bidding process even sharing details of the potential bid with Elevate Strategies weeks before the information was made public. The contract was revoked last fall after questions surfaced about how it was awarded.
The cases of Triantaphyllis, Nader and Dunn have been moving slowly through the Harris County judicial system due to various hearings being reset, primarily by defense teams according to Harris County legal records.
The cases that have resulted in indictments by a Harris County grand jury after being investigated by Texas Rangers are still moving forward in Harris County with the next hearing set for May 13, according to the District Clerk’s Office.
Ogg says she faced political retaliation
During the announcement, Ogg stated she wants these cases handled fairly as she has faced “political retaliation.”
Ogg lost her seat during March’s primary election to opponent Sean Teare. She accused Teare of stating the cases are nothing more than political prosecution. Ogg said she wants to ensure the cases will be heard by a Harris County jury.
“That’s why I would never sit oddly by and allow public corruption cases to be dismissed, swept under the carpet, or ever allow the rule of law to be overwhelmed by politics,” Ogg said. “Not as long as I, Kim Ogg am Harris County District Attorney.”
The DA also called out Teare’s employment at a law firm currently representing one of the indicted employees as a clear conflict of interest for him to handle this case.
The Criminal Prosecutions and Law Enforcement Divisions of the Attorney General’s Office will assist the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Rangers with criminal cases involving the Harris County Judge’s Office and its role in the bid-rigging case.
“Our prosecutors and investigators are the best in the State. They handle every case with utmost professionalism. In this case as in all others, we will seek truth and justice,” Attorney General Paxton stated in a release.
Sean Teare released the following statement:
“By a three-to-one margin, voters rejected the politicized way that our prosecutor’s office has been run. Unfortunately, Kim Ogg ignored the voters and called a press conference to attack her opponents and make clear that fighting political feuds is more important than finishing her term ensuring justice for victims across our county. I have been clear from day one: we must restore integrity to the DA’s Office.
“Even though I’ve never had any involvement in this case, I have promised to immediately recuse myself and refer this case to another District Attorney to ensure it receives fair and impartial treatment. These cases were tainted from the beginning, the second they hired the Republican Party’s general counsel to lead the investigation. Now, they are being handed over to the most political prosecutor in the state, who will work in tandem with a politically motivated DA.
“Throughout my campaign, I emphasized the need to remove politics from the District Attorney’s Office. If I were in office, I would have advocated for an independent review by a DA’s office with no connections to the parties involved to ensure transparency and fairness. It’s crucial that cases of public importance are handled with the utmost integrity and without any hint of political influence.
“The people of Harris County deserve a criminal justice system that prioritizes truth and justice above political interests. I remain committed to upholding these principles and working towards a system that is free from political malfeasance.”
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis released the following statement on Ogg’s decision:
“Our outgoing District Attorney’s decision to hand over the Elevate Strategies case to Ken Paxton is a new low for Kim Ogg. 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. Giving Ken Paxton the opportunity to undermine Harris County, yet again, is just another feather in Ken Paxton’s cap and red meat for his MAGA base.
The voters overwhelmingly rejected this sort of behavior by Kim Ogg in March by historic margins, and this is the culmination of a career that will be remembered more for vindictive political investigations than advancing public safety.
Ultimately, I’m just saddened for these young people who have become collateral damage in this political gamesmanship. My heart goes out to them.”
Dan Simons, the Republican candidate for Harris County District Attorney, released the following statement on Ogg’s decision:
“I applaud the Harris County District Attorney, Kim Ogg, for referring the public corruption cases of former County Judge, Lina Hidalgo staffers, to the State of Texas Attorney General. It is clear that my opponent, by his actions to cover-up his own conflicts of interest in these cases, seeks to undermine the administration of justice for his own political power.
No One is above the law and public corruption eats at the very fabric of our democracy. The citizens of Harris County deserve a District Attorney that will administer justice equally, despite political pressures. I will restore integrity, honesty and transparency to the DA’s Office, balancing the scales of justice for all.”