Prosecutors have responded to a motion to disqualify them and the Hidalgo County district attorney from their involvement in the voter fraud case against Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina.
In addition to technical legal arguments, the 20-page response filed Monday says Molina is exaggerating District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez’s aunt, Mary Alice Palacios’ connection to the case.
“Defendant Molina exaggerates Ms. Palacios’ connection to his case, essentially asking this Court to automatically assign nefarious bias and motive to District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez beyond his constitutional mandate to zealously seek justice,” the response stated.
Molina’s attorney, Carlos A. Garcia, filed the motion on Oct. 20, the night before a hearing over a motion filed by prosecutors on Oct. 12 that sought a jury trial setting. That motion was filed a week before early voting began in the 2021 Edinburg municipal election.
The incumbent mayor is locked in a runoff election with Ramiro Garza, a former Edinburg city manager.
Garcia had alleged during the Oct. 21 hearing that he found the motion to set a jury trial during his client’s reelection campaign as being telling.
“The true interest from the district attorney’s office is to undermine the voters of Edinburg,” he said at the time.
The state’s response to the motion to disqualify also questions the timing of Molina’s motion filing.
“Thus, Defendant Molina has been aware of the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office’s participation in his criminal case for over two years,” the motion stated. “The fact that Defendant Molina has only now raised his due process claims, a mere eight days after the State requested a trial setting date, raises questions as to its authenticity and purpose.”
This comes from a section in the response that questions why Molina didn’t file a motion to disqualify Rodriguez on July 12, 2019, which is when Molina was arraigned and informed of Rodriguez’s involvement in the prosecution of his case.
At the heart of Molina’s motion is Rodriguez’s extended family, which has extensive ties to the city of Edinburg and mostly focuses on Palacios, the district attorney’s aunt who reported voter fraud allegations against Molina to the Texas Attorney General.
According to Molina’s motion, she invited him to lunch prior to Molina winning the mayoral election while he was still serving on the city council.
The two talked about how Palacios wanted Molina’s vote to terminate a relationship with its then health insurance agent and hire another firm where she and her nephew would be subcontractors, according to Molina.
At the time, the city council’s majority voted for the change with Molina voting against, but when he was elected, the new council voted to terminate that contract, according to the mayor’s motion.
It’s for this reason and other extended familial relationships Rodriguez has in the city of Edinburg that Molina wants him disqualified for, arguing it’s a conflict of interest.
“Many, if not all, of Defendant’s arguments center around the District Attorney’s extended family’s relationship with the City of Edinburg,” the state’s response said. “Defendant Molina makes bold assertions that his victory as mayor would cause the District Attorney’s extended family to lose contracts and employment positions with the City of Edinburg.
“First, this argument foreshadows Defendant’s intended abuse of power as mayor. Defendant only has one vote on contracts, employment or any other matter brought before the commission.”
Prosecutors said this argument assumes that the majority of the city council would vote as he did.
“While he may think and boldly state he controls all votes, the truth is—in a democratic commission form of government—he is only one vote and to assume otherwise would be an affront to the citizens of the city he represents,” the response stated.
The response also addresses Molina’s allegations against Palacios, who reported him to the Texas Attorney General, which triggered an investigation leading to an indictment against Molina on 11 counts of voter fraud and a count of engaging in organized voter fraud.
Molina has pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence since his arrest, stating from the beginning that he believed his arrest is political retaliation for unseating Edinburg’s former longtime mayor.
The response also states that Palacios reported Molina before that vote to terminate the insurance contract. That firm that lost the contract was Palacios’ employer.
“Thus, Defendant Molina intentionally misleads this Court by attributing bias to District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez for events occurring after the investigation had already begun,” the response said. “Defendant cannot prove there is an ‘actual due process’ violation.
“There is no proof of the District Attorney’s prior representation of a party. No proof of a pecuniary interest in the outcome of this prosecution or any related cases. And, no proof of any conflict of interest.”
An evidentiary hearing over the matter is scheduled for Monday morning and Garcia has subpoenaed several people, including Rodriguez, Palacios, Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra, District Clerk Laura Hinojosa, Edinburg City Manager Ron Garza and Election Administrator Yvonne Ramon.
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