It looks like Rick Green's involvement in the run-off election for a spot on the Texas Supreme Court is starting to generate some press at last, judging by this new Associated Press article entitled "GOP elite oppose ex-legislator in Texas court race" that recounts some of Green's past troubles:
His legislative career, however, was tainted by ethical questions, although he was never charged or sanctioned.
Many of the questions related to his support for the nutritional supplement Focus Factor. The company used a testimonial filmed in Green's office in 2001, along with footage of him walking the Capitol halls, in a late-night informercial. When critics complained about improper use of his state office, Green said he got no money from Focus Factor and asked it to remove his segments from the ad and a companion radio piece.
In 2002, Travis County prosecutors looked into whether Green pressured the state health department of behalf of dietary supplement maker Metabolife, which was represented by his law firm.
Green also came under scrutiny for lobbying the state parole board for the early release of an elderly man sent to prison for defrauding investors. The man had loaned one of Green's startup companies $400,000.
Green denies wrongdoing in each of those cases.
He blamed "liberal prosecutors from Austin" for the criminal investigation just before the 2002 election and said they ignored similar work done by Democratic lawmakers.
The $400,000 loan from the man before the parole board was repaid in full with cash and stock, Green said.
His last political maneuver was the 2006 punch to Democrat Patrick Rose, who won Green's House seat following a bitter 2002 campaign.
Green, who was charged with a misdemeanor and paid a fine, now says it was "wrong, foolish and simple."
In an online book, Green wrote he was angry about a campaign mailer linking him to Rose's opponent when he struck his one-time rival outside the church on Election Day. A witness told the Austin American-Statesman that Green swung at Rose, calling him "a big baby."
"It was the first real punch I had thrown since I was a kid, but it sent him to the ground," Green wrote. "I guess if I do ever run for office again, we will have a great slogan for the next campaign: 'He'll fight for Texas!'"
The AP says Green declined to be interviewed for the article, but that doesn't mean Green is remaining silent, as he posted a new video just yesterday in which he dismissed all of these allegations, with the exception of punching Rose, though even on that he insists "the whole things was dismissed, there was no adjudication of guilt, no conviction of assault, or any of these other things."
Of course, that is not exactly accurate:
The Hays County sheriff’s office issued an all-points bulletin for Green’s arrest after the altercation, and he ultimately paid a fine and served six months probation on misdemeanor assault charges. In exchange for the fine and probation, Green received deferred adjudication, which means his record is now clear.
Elsewhere in the video, Green calls himself the only true conservative in this race, declaring that he opposes Roe v. Wade and equal rights for gays while supporting public prayer before rattling off a list of right-wing groups - including Wallbuilders, Alliance Defense Fund, the American Center for Law and Justice, and Liberty Counsel - as groups that he proudly supports:
And I supposed we should also mention that, in two weeks, Green is scheduled to speak at a rally being organized by the Odessa Tea Party.
