Fort Bend County Judge KP George rails against criminal case in new letter

RICHMOND, Texas (KTRK) -- Embattled Fort Bend County Judge KP George described the criminal case against him as "political persecution" in a letter addressed to county residents Tuesday.

The Democrat, first elected in 2018, is currently facing a misrepresentation of identity charge for allegedly working with his former chief of staff, Taral Patel, to post racist attacks directed at himself under a fake name.

Of the charges, George writes: "If this can happen to me-- as the top elected official in Fort Bend County, a U.S. citizen for decades, and a public servant in our community-- then it can happen to anyone."

George also called on District Attorney Brian Middleton and the judge presiding over his case to recuse themselves. He claims there is a conflict of interest since he controls the budgets for both of their offices as county judge.

"It's really not a legal conflict of interest," said criminal defense attorney Kent Schaffer, who's not affiliated with George's case.

Schaffer said prosecutors prosecute elected officials all the time, even when the elected officials control their budgets.

George also claims Judge Christian Becerra had a conflict of interest when he signed a warrant to search George's electronic devices in September, citing Becerra's relationship with Middleton.

"Brian Middleton and I went to law school together. We worked at the DA's office, but any mention that there's some type of collusion between us to go after one individual is absolutely ridiculous," Becerra said.

Schaffer noted that it's common for judges to have worked as prosecutors in the past.

George also suggested that Becerra's campaign to replace him as county judge posed a conflict of interest. But Becerra said he had no plans to run for office when he signed the warrant and that he recused himself from the case involving George's former chief of staff as soon as he thought he might run.

When asked about George's letter, Becerra told Eyewitness News, "I found it to be ridiculous. I think it smacked of desperation."

A good portion of George's letter targets the booking process at the Fort Bend County Jail. George decries being forced to change into a jail uniform and that his mugshot was released. He also claims the sheriff's office called ICE to check his immigration status and seized his passport.

"All these things that he doesn't like are things that happen to every single criminal defendant every day, but I understand that being an elected official, he figured somehow he'd be exempt from all that," Schaffer said.

The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office responded to George's statements late Tuesday:

"Judge KP George was treated like everyone else that comes into the FBC Jail. Everyone that comes into our jail and indicates they are not a naturally born U.S. citizen, ICE is contacted. ICE promptly advised no action was needed. Therefore, an ICE hold was not placed on Judge KP George.

Furthermore, mugshots are public record while the individual is in custody. As soon as a person is no longer in our custody, their mugshot is immediately removed from our public database."

George, who has yet to announce if he'll run for re-election in 2026, urged Fort Bend County residents to "stand with me."

"This is not just an attack on me and my family; it is an attack on every citizen of Fort Bend County, the principles of fairness, and the integrity of our justice system," he wrote.

A spokesperson for George said he was unavailable for an interview Tuesday.

The Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office said it couldn't address George's specific claims because of the ongoing criminal case.

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