Harris Co. Judge Lina Hidalgo suggests DA Kim Ogg could have her 'indicted' as political ploy
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In a series of tweets this week, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo increased her attacks on Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who Hidalgo said could have her "indicted" as a political ploy.
Three of Hidalgo's top staffers were indicted in April following allegations they steered a nearly $11 million COVID-19 outreach contract to a small Houston firm.
On Wednesday, Hidalgo tweeted, "I expect this political exercise to continue through Election Day. (Ogg will) have me indicted. Or name a 'special prosecutor'- an illusion of independence since those are still beholden to the DA. She did that before in a political prosecution that went nowhere. I'm not deterred."
Hidalgo has been outspoken in her support for her three staffers who were indicted for their alleged role in sharing bid details with the business who was awarded the contract before it was made public.
SEE MORE: Judge Lina Hidalgo responds to indictments of her staffers in $11M contract investigation
The three people indicted on a count of misuse of official information and a count of tampering with a government record are:
- Alex Triantaphyllis: Hidalgo's current chief of staff but was her deputy chief of staff when the allegations took place;
- Aaron Dunn: then a senior advisor for public safety and emergency management at the county;
- Wallis Nader: Hidalgo's deputy policy director.
Triantaphyllis and Nader still work at Hidalgo's office. Dunn left for a job at the Harris County Flood Control District in March.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt, just that a grand jury found there was enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against an individual.
Four search warrants related to the case were unsealed earlier this month and demanded Google turn over documents accessed by Hidalgo and six other senior staffers.
"I believe that Google LLC is in possession of electronic data that will show that Dunn, Triantaphyllis and Nader created, edited, commented on and/or viewed multiple scope of work documents," investigators wrote in the search warrant. "I also believe it is probable that the above Google Docs were subsequently sent to (Elevate Strategies' founder Felicity) Pereyra on January 13, 2021 and January 15, 2021, which is prior to the first public release of the Vaccine Outreach RFP on February 5, 2021, and well prior to the first time a vendor could download a copy of the Vaccine Outreach RFP on February 19, 2021."
RELATED: 13 Investigates: Search warrant on Harris County contract details alleged advantages
The search warrants do not allege Hidalgo misused official information and there's no public indication that the investigation is getting any closer to a possible indictment of Hidalgo.
Hidalgo's attorney previously said the document was sent to Pereyra by mistake.
Hidalgo has stood by her staffers since the investigation began, declaring they did nothing wrong and that the DA's office is "weaponizing" the system with a "flimsy" case.
Earlier this month, 13 Investigates broke the news that the DA's office is accusing Triantaphyllis of violating his bond conditions and asking the judge to decide if conditions were stringent enough.
SEE MORE: Indicted Harris County staffers, DA at odds over bond conditions
The district attorney alerted the judge in the case that Triantaphyllis attended a COVID-19 funds steering committee meeting and "voted to approve the procurement guidelines and scope of work" for a childcare contract. The meeting was one day after a criminal judge told Triantaphyllis what his bond conditions were.
The steering committee did not award the funds, but instead the rules by which they would be awarded.
Marla Poirot, Triantaphyllis' lawyer, previously denied it was a violation.
Hidalgo has also said he didn't participate in a selection committee and that it was not a bond violation.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Hidalgo called the news of the alleged bond violations a "political exercise."
"It's been a constant stream of leaks, of litigating this out in the press even when we were forbidden from responding, when this was supposed to be a process that happened within the courts and within the justice system," Hidalgo said.
She also called the allegations a "distortion of the facts."
"It's no coincidence this is happening in the middle of my re-election campaign - that in and of itself should make very clear that it's politically motivated. That it's meant to destruct, to destroy, to harm my campaign - to harm (and) to distract me," Hidalgo said.
We reached out to the DA's office, who said its work continues and the investigation is ongoing.
"No one should diminish, degrade or dismiss the hard work of grand jurors who spent five months on this investigation and determined that the defendants should be indicted for two felonies a piece," said Dane Schiller, spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
SEE MORE: Harris County District Attorney's office tells Judge Lina Hidalgo to back off grand jury criticism
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