Well, this is an interesting turn of events:
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, has informed Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore that she will not step down from her seat in the Texas House as planned when the House convenes for a new session Tuesday, Moore told the American-Statesman Saturday.
Moore, newly-sworn in as district attorney, said that Dukes had called her to inform her of her decision.
Moore said he was already scheduled to meet with Texas Rangers investigating ethics charges against Dukes on Tuesday and would proceed with that meeting and then decide whether to go before a grand jury and seek an indictment of Dukes.
Dukes announced in September that she would not be sworn in for a 12th term when the next session of the Texas Legislature convenes Jan. 10. Dukes cited medical complications stemming from a 2013 car crash as the reason for her departure, but her announcement came soon after the Texas Rangers completed an investigation into her use of legislative staff and campaign money.
It’s hard to fathom why she’s doing this, unless it’s to somehow gain more leverage for a better plea deal. Or maybe she just has no other potential job prospects that will let her pretend to work from home while not showing up, given that the last time I covered this story she had been absent from the legislature for a year.
But I can’t help thinking that Dukes’ desire to remain in the Statehouse will make it a lot more likely that she ends up in the big house instead…
(Hat tip: Matt Mackowiak’s Twitter feed.)
Tags: Austin, Crime, Dawnna Dukes, Democrats, Texas, Texas Rangers
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