Hidalgo: 'The DA has an agenda, and that agenda is not justice–it’s political'

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo made a claim on Wednesday (May 18) that Harris County District Attorney (DA) Kim Ogg will indict her next as part of a criminal investigation into a failed COVID-19 vaccine contract, but the move will be rooted in politics, Houston-based media outlets reported. 

"The DA has an agenda, and that agenda is not justice–it’s political," Hidalgo, a Democrat, said in a tweet. "This isn’t the first time she pursues a political vendetta under the guise of a criminal investigation."

Last year, county leaders approved and then voided an $11 million COVID-19 vaccine outreach contract upon revelations that the awardee supposedly received advanced notice of the agreement, the Houston Daily reported.

According to the publication, the Texas Rangers executed search warrants in March at the Harris County Administration Building – where the county judge's office is housed – and other county facilities as part of the probe.

Three senior members of Hidalgo's staff were handed down felony indictments for misuse of official information and tampering with records, the Houston Daily reported.

Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported that Hidalgo took to Twitter to lob her assertions at Ogg, who's also a Democrat.

In one tweet, per KTRK, the county judge, 31, insinuated that the matter will follow her "through Election Day," which is Nov. 8.

Hidalgo, the first female and Latina Harris County judge, is seeking reelection.

"She'll have me indicted," she tweeted. "Or name a 'special prosecutor'—an illusion of independence since those are still beholden to the DA."

Hidalgo held a press conference earlier this week in which she accused Ogg of attempting to derail her bid for a second term, per Houston CBS affiliate KHOU.

“It’s no coincidence this is happening in the middle of my re-election campaign, that in and of itself should make it very clear that it’s politically motivated, that it’s meant to destruct, destroy to harm my campaign, to harm (and) distract me,” she said, according to the station.

Ogg's office responded to the county judge with a statement, KHOU reported.

“No one should diminish, degrade or dismiss the hard work of grand jurors who spent five months on this investigation and determined that the three defendants should be indicted for two felonies a piece," the statement said.