AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - An attorney prosecuting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on criminal securities fraud charges is asking the state's highest court to reconsider a ruling that has left the future of the case uncertain.

Special prosecutor Brian Wice wants the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to undo a November ruling that essentially denied his team $200,000 they've previously billed.

Paxton was indicted in 2015 on felony charges of duping investors in a tech startup. He has pleaded not guilty.

Wice doesn't say in his 18-page request filed before Christmas whether prosecutors will quit if they're not paid. Challenging the payments are elected officials in Collin County, which is responsible for footing the bill and is Paxton's hometown.

County leaders have said they're looking out for taxpayers and not politics.

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