Emails, Jerry Strickland, communications director, Office of Attorney General Greg Abbott, Aug. 26-28, 2014

5:04 p.m.

Aug. 26, 2014

Can’t tell from old stories whether the attorney general’s office ever said that they had concluded their CPRIT investigation.  Is the investigation complete?

The Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney's Office has filed felony charges against a former CPRIT official.  The Attorney General's Office worked alongside the Travis Co. District Attorney's Office to conduct a criminal investigation into wrongdoing at CPRIT. In fact, the Attorney General's Computer Forensics Unit was responsible for recovering deleted emails and data files that CPRIT staff claimed had been lost forever.  Because the matter investigated by this office in conjunction with the Public Integrity Unit is currently the subject of an ongoing prosecution, our investigation is not closed and we cannot comment further on this matter.

In Dec. 2012 the attorney general’s Office of the Attorney General started their investigation.  Is that correct?

Yes

In the ad:  Manual says Abbott was charged with overseeing the cancer research fund, let his wealthiest donors take tens of thousands of dollars in grants, then showered Abbott with gifts and free vacations.  Is there a response to that claim?

Pursuant to Chapter 102 of the Health & Safety Code, Attorney General Abbott named a designee to serve on the committee and therefore, did not cast a single vote on any CPRIT grant, nor was he involved in any grant request, review or award.

12:24 p.m.

Aug. 27, 2014

The AG’s designee was one of eleven voting members of the CPRIT committee.

The AG’s designee was not at the meeting when the Peloton grant was awarded and therefore did not vote to award the Peloton grant.

According to a press release issued by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, the charge in the currently pending prosecution “stems from [the defendant’s] handling of an $11.04 million grant that was awarded to a company called Damascus, now known as Peloton, in 2010.”  Here is a link to the District Attorney’s press release:

http://www.co.travis.tx.us/district_attorney/pdf/pr/2013/CPRITPrsRls120613.pdf

As was extensively reported in the Dallas Morning News and other publications -- there was misconduct, mismanagement and disclosure failures by CPRIT’s senior staff.  Because of that misconduct, the AG’s designee was unaware of the serious issues surrounding the grants in question.

4:40 p.m.

Aug. 28, 2014

When the designee was present, he voted.  When he was absent, he didn’t vote.