Houston lawyer Dan Cogdell, who successfully defended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against impeachment charges two years ago, is now defending a proposed Islamic community against an investigation by Paxton.

“This project is simply the victim of racial profiling,” Cogdell said after being retained by Community Capital Partners, the developer of EPIC City in rural Hunt and Collin Counties.

The East Plano Islamic Center issued a statement saying they are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization “built on the principles of faith, service and transparency.”

The EPIC City project has been targeted in a number of probes, most recently by Gov. Greg Abbott, even though no development plans have yet been filed.

Abbott ordered Texas Rangers to investigate the East Plano Islamic Center “for potentially violating criminal law” and said construction could not begin until plans were filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The project would include 1,000 homes, a school, a mosque, a senior living center and retail space on 402 acres outside the Josephine city limits. 

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By Bob Wieland |[email protected]