Interest of Justice calls on US and States to stop using LAW-FARE (warfare by misusing law) as a political tactic. Its ALL POLITICAL in our protected opinion.
We stand with Attorney General Ken Paxton who is an asset to morality, law and order.
For everyone who is a diehard on reading into the extra details of the case be aware! This article is long and it follows the case in depth. It’s also written by the biased NYT. There are a few connected articles at the bottom which spin off into closely related topics about the trial, which we figure some people may not be aware of. If you make it through all the information, let us know!
Happy readings! pray for Ken Paxton and pray for justice
See IoJ’s past article about how all this began just after challenging the WHO:
Video from this morning before the trial explains the saga:
There is actually a wealth of information coming from NY Times just now. We are dropping it all below and if you want updates they seem to be on top of it:
LIVE Updated
Sept. 5, 2023, 4:50 p.m. ET 6 minutes ago
6 minutes ago
Ken Paxton ImpeachmentAccused of Corruption, Paxton Faces Removal From Office
The first witness, a whistle-blower who once worked for the Texas attorney general, proclaimed his deep conservative convictions as he took the stand to testify for the prosecution.
The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas who has been accused of improperly using his office to benefit an Austin real estate investor and campaign donor, began on Tuesday with testimony from a whistle-blower and a forceful opening statement from Mr. Paxton’s lawyers, who deny any wrongdoing.
Mr. Paxton, a third-term incumbent championed by hard-core conservatives and former President Donald J. Trump, is facing 16 articles of impeachment, which the Republican-dominated Texas House adopted in May by a vote of 121 to 23. A jury of 31 State Senators will determine his fate.
The first day offered a road map for the rest of the trial, which is expected to last several weeks. In the opening statement of the Texas House impeachment managers, Representative Andrew Murr, the Republican lawmaker who led the House investigating committee, said the attorney general had “turned the keys of the office of attorney general” over to his friend and donor, Nate Paul.
“He is not fit to be the attorney general of Texas,” Mr. Murr said.
Tony Buzbee, Mr. Paxton’s lead lawyer, often spoke with a tone of outrage, arguing in his opening statement that the proceedings threatened to disenfranchise the millions of Texans who voted the attorney general into office. “What can be less democratic than 30 people deciding who serves as attorney general of Texas?” he said.
On Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors called their first witness: Jeff Mateer, a former first assistant attorney general under Mr. Paxton who became a whistle-blower about alleged wrongdoing by his boss.
Here’s what to know:
Mr. Paxton has been suspended since the House vote. A conviction on any of the articles by two-thirds of the Senate, made up of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats, would be enough to remove him from office. The senators could also vote to bar him from running again.
Mr. Paul, who donated $25,000 to his campaign, paid for his home renovations and helped him engage in an extramarital affair, according to the articles of impeachment. Mr. Paul has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr. Paxton’s lawyers put forth a series of unsuccessful motions to dismiss the case; all but one failed by a vote of more than two-thirds of the senators present. The unsuccessful maneuvering provided early hints into how the trial might take shape: Mr. Paxton appeared to have the support of at least six senators, but a solid majority of Republicans do not appear to view the trial as a “sham,” as some of his supporters have called it.
The Senate opted to postpone consideration of four additional articles of impeachment related to a 2015 indictment for securities fraud; those articles could be considered in a future proceeding or dismissed at the end of the trial.
The impeachment has deepened rifts within the Republican Party. Mr. Paxton’s supporters have engaged in a public pressure campaign, enlisting national conservative figures such as Steve Bannon, questioning the process and seeking to sway the votes of some Republican senators. Other Texas Republicans, such as former Gov. Rick Perry, have stood by the trial.
Among the state senators hearing evidence is Mr. Paxton’s wife, Angela Paxton. According to the rules, she would be counted as present for the purposes of the two-thirds majority needed but barred from voting or joining in any deliberations.
Show more
Sept. 5, 2023, 4:42 p.m. ET14 minutes ago
14 minutes ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Rusty Hardin, one of the prosecutors, is emphasizing the conservative credentials of Jeff Mateer, the first witness against Ken Paxton, and many of his fellow whistle-blowers, in an apparent attempt to dismiss the notion that they are part of a “Deep State” going after Paxton because he is an ally of former President Trump.
Sept. 5, 2023, 4:43 p.m. ET13 minutes ago
13 minutes ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Mateer drove that point home by saying that he and his fellow whistle-blowers “are committed to the rule of law, and to conservative governance.”
Sept. 5, 2023, 4:37 p.m. ET19 minutes ago
19 minutes ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Jeff Mateer, the first witness for the prosecution, testified that he took a job in the attorney general’s office after Ken Paxton made him an offer. “He asked me to pray about it. And my wife and I did pray about it, and we felt like we were supposed to come down here.”
Sept. 5, 2023, 4:24 p.m. ET32 minutes ago
32 minutes ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The first witness for the prosecution is one of the whistle-blowers whose allegations landed the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, in political peril, although he did not join the whistle-blower lawsuit against his former boss. The witness, Jeff Mateer, is a long-time conservative lawyer who served for a time as a first assistant attorney general under Paxton.
Sept. 5, 2023, 4:31 p.m. ET25 minutes ago
25 minutes ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Rusty Hardin, a lawyer for the prosecution, asked Mateer if he is a RINO, or “Republican in Name Only,” a term used by Trump supporters and others to denigrate Republicans who they believe aren't sufficiently conservative. Mateer responded that he believes in conservative values.
Sept. 5, 2023, 3:39 p.m. ET1 hour ago
1 hour ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Opening statements have concluded, with both the prosecution and defense providing a roadmap for the days ahead. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has given jurors a break while he meets with the lawyers.
Sept. 5, 2023, 3:35 p.m. ET1 hour ago
1 hour ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Dan Cogdell shouts and grows impassioned at one point when saying that Ken Paxton had only been trying “find the truth” when he directed his office to hire an outside attorney to investigate state employees looking into Nate Paul, an Austin real estate figure and campaign donor. “For God’s sakes, what are we doing here?” Cogdell says.
Sept. 5, 2023, 3:34 p.m. ET1 hour ago
1 hour ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Dan Cogdell, a lawyer for Ken Paxton, said that some people might look at his client's actions and say, “I don’t know about that.” But no laws were broken, he said.
Sept. 5, 2023, 3:37 p.m. ET1 hour ago
1 hour ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Cogdell is also representing Paxton in a criminal indictment accusing him of securities fraud that dates back to 2015. That case has begun to move forward after years of delays, though a trial has yet to be held.
Sept. 5, 2023, 3:16 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The first witness for the prosecutors is one of the whistleblowers behind the lawsuit that landed the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, in political peril. The witness, Jeff Mateer, is a long-time Republican who served as a former first assistant attorney general under Paxton.
Sept. 5, 2023, 3:04 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Tony Buzbee, Ken Paxton's lawyer, is blaming the news media for tarnishing his client's reputation with its reporting. “We’re getting prosecuted in the press.”
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:59 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Attorney General Ken Paxton is accused of receiving bribes, most notably funds for home repairs. But Tony Buzbee, the lawyer who is representing Paxton, said in his opening statement that, in fact, Paxton and his wife were "pinching pennies.”
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:57 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Tony Buzbee, Ken Paxton's lawyer, suggests in opening statments that the “rush” to impeach Paxton stemmed from his client's accusation in May that the Texas House speaker, Dade Phelan, was drunk during a legislative session. Paxton called for Phelan's resignation, and Phelan’s office brushed aside the accusation as Paxton's “last-ditch effort to save face” during the impeachment process.
Some of the state’s best-known lawyers are on the Texas State Senate floor, working to persuade a majority of senators on the issue of whether the state’s highest law enforcement officer should permanently leave office or go back to work.
Mr. Paxton’s lead counsel is Tony Buzbee, whose Houston law firm offers a simple mantra on its website: “Just Win.” When former Gov. Rick Perry was indicted on abuse of power allegations in 2014, he chose Mr. Buzbee to lead his defense and was cleared of all charges. Mr. Buzbee, a former Marine reconnaissance officer, ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Houston in 2019 and is currently running for the City Council.
Joining him at the defense table is Dan Cogdell, who also represents Mr. Paxton in a pending security fraud case. Six staff members at the attorney general’s office have taken leaves of absence to help defend Mr. Paxton.
Representing the prosecution are Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin, Houston-based lawyers who have collectively amassed more than 100 years of experience representing scores of well-known clients.
Mr. DeGuerin successfully represented former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on money-laundering charges and also helped clear former U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of misconduct charges. Another client was the former major league pitching star Roger Clemens, who was acquitted in 2012 on charges that he lied to Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs.
The prosecution team also includes Harriet O’Neill, a former justice on the Texas Supreme Court, and the 12 House members whose investigation of Mr. Paxton’s alleged malfeasance resulted in the impeachment articles.
Representative Andrew S. Murr, who led the House committee investigating Mr. Paxton, delivered the prosecution’s opening statement on Tuesday.
Mr. Murr, a Republican lawmaker since 2014 from Junction, Texas, is an eighth-generation Texan who grew up on a ranch. He is a graduate of Texas A & M University and Texas Tech University School of Law. A former county judge, he has presided over hundreds of criminal, civil and probate cases.
Show more
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:45 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Tony Buzbee, Ken Paxton's lead attorney, uses part of his opening statement to discuss Republican Party dynamics in Texas, saying that Paxton “trounced” a member of the Bush family in his last primary in 2022. “What can be less democratic than 30 people deciding who serves as attorney general of Texas?” Buzbee said, referring to the State Senate jurors in the impeachment trial.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:50 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
“Ken Paxton is the best attorney general in the country, period,” Buzbee adds. Paxton is seen by many hard-core conservatives as their legal standard-bearer.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:40 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The House impeachment managers concluded their opening statement in less time than they were given. Now Ken Paxton’s lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, is starting his opening.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:40 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
In his opening statement, Representative Andrew Murr, a House impeachment manager, addressed pressure from some of Ken Paxton's conservative allies, urging his fellow Republicans not to be swayed. “Do right, and risk the consequences," he said. "Do right, and risk the consequences.”
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:31 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Representative Andrew Murr, a Republican who led the House committee that investigated Ken Paxton, said the prosecution will prove “in chilling details” that a long list of wrongdoing that the attorney general is accused of was tied to a friend and former donor, Nate Paul.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:40 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Nate Paul, who was indicted in June on accusations of making false statements on loan applications and entered a plea of not guilty, has denied any wrongdoing related to the accusations against Paxton.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:28 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
While the prosecution is making its case for Ken Paxton’s impeachment, his supporters are taking to social media to back him. The son of former President Donald J. Trump, a key ally, posted, “Ken will survive.”
Today marks another milestone in Ken Paxton’s career of fighting the Austin Swamp and Establishment. Ken will survive and will continue to combat the Swamp in Texas to put America First.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming 2024 primary season. RINO hunting season starts soon!!!
In the opening statements from Texas House impeachment managers, who are acting as prosecutors, Representative Andrew Murr said Attorney General Ken Paxton “turned the keys of the office of attorney general” over to his friend and donor, Nate Paul. “He is not fit to be the attorney general of Texas,” Murr said.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:27 p.m. ET2 hours ago
2 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
“We do allege that he committed crimes,” Murr said. But, he added, “We don’t have to show some kind of quid pro quo” to establish that Paxton's conduct should result in impeachment. The goal of this impeachment, he said, is to protect the state from the attorney general.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:16 p.m. ET3 hours ago
3 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Lawyers for both sides have a sidebar discussion with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over a new issue raised by Ken Paxton’s lawyers: how much of the evidence against him is protected by attorney-client privilege. Patrick says he’ll rule as the issue comes up.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:15 p.m. ET3 hours ago
3 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
One of the lawyers for the prosecution, Rusty Hardin, has asked for Ken Paxton to be present at the trial, since the Senate is approaching the impeachment proceedings as a criminal court would. There is some discussion of the rules before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, acting as the judge, appears to side with Paxton’s lawyers, who argue that their client was required to be there for the start of the trial at 9 a.m. this morning, but not to be present throughout.
Sept. 5, 2023, 2:06 p.m. ET3 hours ago
3 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Opening statements are about to begin in the Senate impeachment trial of the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, who is no longer seated with his lawyers.
When Republican primary voters cast their ballots in the Texas attorney general’s race in the spring of 2022, Ken Paxton, a popular figure in ultraconservative circles with support from former President Donald J. Trump, was facing securities fraud charges and accusations from employees that he had abused the office.
Mr. Paxton went on to handily win re-election not only in the contested primary race, but in the general election in November, with 53.4 percent of the vote.
But with his impeachment trial now underway in the Texas Senate, Mr. Paxton’s once-solid popularity among voters in the staunch conservative state appears to be slipping. According to a new poll by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, 47 percent of voters surveyed said Mr. Paxton’s alleged offenses warrant his removal from office.
A total of 18 percent of respondents said removal was not warranted, and 35 percent said they did not know or had no opinion.
Support among his base was harder to shake. About 24 percent of Republican respondents agreed that there was enough evidence that he engaged in wrongdoing to justify his removal; a slightly larger number, 32 percent, disagreed, and the majority of Republican respondents, 43 percent, said they had no opinion or did not know.
A total of 71 percent of Democratic voters agreed with the question posed. The poll was conducted between Aug. 19 and 28 from a pool of 1,200 registered voters in Texas. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
“Paxton fares slightly better among Republicans, though his partisan base remains divided, with the plurality unsure of whether Paxton should, or should not, be removed from office,” the authors of the poll said.
Mr. Paxton has worked hard to retain support even as the scandals he has been involved in keep mounting. He is facing 20 articles of impeachment stemming from the various accusations.
Show more
Sept. 5, 2023, 1:06 p.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
After swearing in the first of the witnesses in Ken Paxton's impeachment trial, the Senate is taking an hourlong break for lunch.
Sept. 5, 2023, 1:05 p.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
Edgar Sandoval
Reporting from San Antonio
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is presiding over the impeachment trial, asked the State Senate members serving as jurors not to consider news media coverage of Ken Paxton's ongoing scandals. The state's media organizations have uncovered new details about the attorney general since the House voted to impeach him in May.
Sept. 5, 2023, 1:00 p.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
In an early back and forth between the high-powered lawyers in the case, Rusty Hardin, on the prosecution side, objected to Ken Paxton’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, “making speeches” as he enters pleas of not guilty for his client. Buzbee has called the charges “untrue,” “false” and “offensive.” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is presiding, agreed with the objection, and Buzbee stopped doing so.
Sept. 5, 2023, 12:54 p.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The trial will focus on 16 of the 20 articles of impeachment sent to the State Senate by the Texas House, related primarily to accusations from several whistleblowers of corruption and abuse of office. If any of the 16 articles is sustained against the attorney general, he will be removed from office.
Sept. 5, 2023, 12:54 p.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The Senate chose to hold four other articles “in abeyance.” Those dealt with particular accusations related to Paxton’s 2015 indictment for securities fraud.
Sept. 5, 2023, 12:51 p.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Tony Buzbee, the main lawyer for Attorney General Ken Paxton, is pleading not guilty to the articles of impeachment. Paxton is standing as each of the charges against him is read. “Those allegations are not true, therefore Ken Paxton pleads not guilty,” Buzbee says.
Sept. 5, 2023, 12:22 p.m. ET5 hours ago
5 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is presiding over the Senate proceedings, ruled that because the impeachment is like a criminal trial, Ken Paxton does not have to take the stand. “The attorney general cannot be compelled to testify,” Patrick said, telling prosecutors, “You may not call the attorney general as a witness.”
Sept. 5, 2023, 12:15 p.m. ET5 hours ago
5 hours ago
David Montgomery
Reporting from Austin
As the State Senate opened the Paxton impeachment trial, the rest of the Texas State Capitol remained relatively quiet, except for a few post-Labor Day visitors. The largest group in the ground-floor rotunda was about 30 fifth-graders on a school visit.
Sept. 5, 2023, 12:00 p.m. ET5 hours ago
5 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The votes on pretrial motions have underscored that a solid majority of Republican senators do not view the trial as a “sham,” as some of Ken Paxton’s supporters have called it. They also revealed that Paxton enjoys a core of at least six Republican supporters in the Senate. No Democrat has voted for any of the pretrial motions to dismiss the case.
Sept. 5, 2023, 11:54 a.m. ET5 hours ago
5 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Another motion to dismiss one of the 20 articles of impeachment, which involved a settlement agreement reached by Ken Paxton with whistleblowers in his office, failed. But it was the closest vote on a pretrial motion yet: 10 senators voted to dismiss that article of impeachment, versus 20 who voted to keep it in place.
The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton will resemble a criminal proceeding in many ways: There will be evidence and witnesses presented for and against Mr. Paxton, a chance for cross-examination, and, ultimately, a decision on his fate by his peers.
But there are important differences, most notably that under the Texas Constitution the rules for the trial are set by the State Senate itself. The 29 pages of ruleswere adopted by a vote of 25 to 3 this summer.
The trial is focused on allegations brought by several of Mr. Paxton’s top aides, who have accused him of abusing his office as attorney general to benefit a donor and Austin real estate developer, Nate Paul.
Unusually, under the rules, members of the “jury” — the senators listening to the evidence — can be called as witnesses, and the trial may feature their testimony. One senator, Bryan Hughes, is referred to indirectly in an article of impeachment as having acted as a “straw requestor” for a legal opinion from the attorney general’s office, which, the articles argue, helped Mr. Paul. Another, Donna Campbell, employed in her senate office the woman with whom Mr. Paxton had an extramarital affair. Still another, Angela Paxton, is Mr. Paxton’s wife.
Under the rules, Ms. Paxton cannot vote or deliberate as part of the trial, though she can sit for the proceedings. A conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the members present — 21 votes out of the 31 senators — and the rules explicitly say Ms. Paxton is to be counted as present, which would have the same effect as her voting for acquittal.
The rules give control of many decisions during the trial to Dan Patrick, the lieutenant governor who runs the Senate. They also set the timing of the trial: opening statements of 60 minutes for each side, 24 hours each for presentation of witnesses and evidence, an hour each to present rebuttal evidence, and 60-minute closing statements.
The court can also meet in closed session, but all decisions must be made in public.
If there is a conviction, each side will be given 15 minutes to argue why Mr. Paxton should or should not be barred from office, before a separate vote by the senators is held. If two-thirds vote in favor, then Mr. Paxton would be both removed and permanently barred from holding office in Texas.
After the trial is over, each senator will be allowed to explain, in writing, why they supported or opposed conviction, within three days of the vote.
The Senate voted to hold “in abeyance” four articles of impeachment that deal with actions by Mr. Paxton that led to his criminal indictment for securities fraud in 2015. After the trial, and final votes of conviction or acquittal on each of the other articles, the senators could vote to dismiss, by a simple majority, the four articles that were held in abeyance.
Show more
Sept. 5, 2023, 11:45 a.m. ET5 hours ago
5 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
After the State Senate has considered 11 pre-trial motions, Ken Paxton’s lawyers have not succeeded on a single one. Their most successful attempt so far to get an article of impeachment dismissed has been nine votes in favor, and 21 opposed.
Sept. 5, 2023, 11:08 a.m. ET6 hours ago
6 hours ago
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
So far, five pretrial motions put forward by Ken Paxton’s lawyers, questioning the basis of the case against the attorney general or its underlying evidence, have failed by a vote of more than two-thirds of the senators, suggesting the trial is likely to proceed.
Sept. 5, 2023, 10:45 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The Senate has voted on its first pretrial motion. This one was put forward by Ken Paxton’s lawyers, asking to dismiss all the articles of impeachment for having no evidence. The vote failed 24-6, with the majority of Republicans voting against throwing out the entire case from the start.
Sept. 5, 2023, 10:48 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The first vote provided a window into how many of the 19 Republican senators are firmly in Ken Paxton’s camp, and how many appear open to hearing the evidence and, perhaps, voting to convict. Any article of impeachment would require 21 votes for a conviction.
Before opening statements begin in the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton, the Texas State Senate is considering a series of pretrial legal motions, including several filed by Mr. Paxton’s lawyers that seek to have the entire case dismissed.
Many of the motions — such as those pertaining to evidence and testimony — will be decided by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the State Senate and is acting as the presiding officer for the trial, according to the rules adopted by the Senate.
But the motions to dismiss are subject to a majority vote. Among the central arguments of Mr. Paxton’s lawyers are that the articles of impeachment pertain to actions that came before the last election, in November 2022, when Mr. Paxton was elected to a third term. They argue that Texas law has a “prior-term” or “forgiveness” doctrine that precludes those actions from forming the basis of his impeachment.
Lawyers for the House members who are acting as the prosecution have argued against that reasoning, pointing to earlier impeachments of a district judge and a sitting governor in Texas in which actions taken before the most recent elections were considered.
Other motions that will be considered on Tuesday include efforts by Mr. Paxton’s lawyers to exclude certain evidence and to keep him from testifying by barring the House lawyers from subpoenaing his testimony or forcing him to invoke his right against self-incrimination.
The Senate may not decide on all of the motions on Tuesday. A ruling on any motion can be delayed, if deemed necessary, until after the presentation of evidence.
Show more
Sept. 5, 2023, 10:34 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Senator Angela Paxton, Ken Paxton’s wife, is the only one of the 31 State Senate members who was not sworn in by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. She is not acting as a juror, but will be counted as present for purposes of calculating the two-thirds of Senate votes needed for conviction, as well as majority votes on other matters.
In his eight years as presiding officer of Texas’ State Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has secured a hold on legislative power, often upstaging the two other Republican members of the State Capitol’s “Big Three” leadership team, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan.
Now Mr. Patrick, a 73-year-old former radio host, will preside over the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. In less turbulent times, the two men have been political allies and share much of the deeply conservative Republican base that has fueled their political ascent.
It emerged this summer that Mr. Patrick had accepted a $3 million donation from Defend Texas Liberty, a group led by conservative megadonors who are also among the attorney general’s strongest defenders.
Critics have expressed concern that Mr. Patrick could be inclined to steer the Senate toward a favorable outcome for the embattled attorney general. But he has pledged that there will be a “fair and just trial,” and some of those familiar with politics in the state capital say he is committed to that.
“Patrick’s going to run it straight. It’s going to be above board, and he’ll get kudos for doing it that way,” said Bill Miller, an Austin lobbyist who knows both men.
A seven-member rules committee appointed by Mr. Patrick has required that Mr. Paxton’s wife, Senator Angela Paxton, recuse herself from voting on the impeachment or from participating in the debate.
Mr. Patrick has also imposed a strict gag order to prohibit any principal in the case, including senators, House members, lawyers and witnesses, from making derogatory statements or leaking information that might undermine the proceedings.
With no legal experience, Patrick brought in outside counsel to assist him. His first choice — Marc Brown, a former appeals court judge from Houston — was forced to withdraw after disclosures that he had contributed to Mr. Paxton’s 2022 primary opponent. Mr. Patrick has since chosen another former appeals court judge, Lana Myers of Dallas, as his legal adviser for the trial.
Show more
Sept. 5, 2023, 10:10 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and each of the 31 senators who will serve as jurors for the Paxton impeachment trial took an oath on what is known as the “Sam Houston” Bible, although historians have questioned its supposed connection to the hero of Texas' fight for independence.
Sept. 5, 2023, 10:16 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
By swearing in each senator individually, Patrick appears to be setting the tone for a solemn proceeding — and also one that will not be rushed.
Sept. 5, 2023, 10:05 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who will be presiding over the trial, called in “the jury” — a.k.a. the State Senate. The 31 senators filed in silently and took their desks, some piled high with printed papers related to the inquiry.
Sept. 5, 2023, 9:55 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Ken Paxton arrived in the Senate Chamber, greeted his wife, Angela, acknowledged his supporters in the gallery and joined his lawyers standing at a table.
Sept. 5, 2023, 9:54 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
David Montgomery
Reporting from Austin
When the Senate gallery doors to the Paxton impeachment trial opened promptly at 8 a.m., the media quickly gobbled up all 46 press tickets to the state’s hottest political show. Members of the public still had a shot at getting in, though. Of the 293 tickets designated for the public, Senate officials said more than 100 remained.
Sept. 5, 2023, 9:41 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
The Senate Chamber has been arranged to resemble a courtroom, and lawyers for each side have already arrived, including Dick DeGuerin, acting as a prosecutor, and Tony Buzbee, lead attorney for Ken Paxton. Above the chamber, a screen that usually displays bill information reads: “Court of Impeachment.”
The impeachment case against Ken Paxton, the suspended Texas attorney general, cites a pattern of alleged corruption stemming from Mr. Paxton’s relationship with Nate Paul, a businessman whose Austin-based real estate empire crashed under the weight of an F.B.I. investigation.
Responding to the findings of a House investigative committee, House members voted overwhelmingly in May to approve 20 articles of impeachment against the embattled attorney general, who also faces much-delayed securities fraud charges in an indictment handed down eight years ago.
The Senate rule-makers decided to focus the trial on 16 of the articles that contain allegations, originally brought forward by whistle-blowing staff members, that the attorney general misused his office in an effort to help Mr. Paul and thwart the F.B.I. investigation. In turn, the businessman, who was arrested in June and charged with eight counts of mortgage fraud, is accused of financing a renovation of Mr. Paxton’s house and providing a job for the attorney general’s mistress.
Here is a count-by-count summary of the charges awaiting judgment by the Republican-led Senate:
Disregard of official duty: The attorney general’s office is responsible for protecting charitable organizations. Mr. Paxton is accused of harming the Austin-based Mitte Foundation by forcing staff members to intervene in a lawsuit brought against the foundation by several entities controlled by Mr. Paul in an effort to benefit the businessman.
Disregard of official duty: Mr. Paxton allegedly misused his official power by authorizing a legal opinion intended to help Mr. Paul avoid the foreclosure of some of the real estate investor’s properties.
Disregard of official duty: The attorney general’s office oversees the state’s public information law that provides citizens’ access to government documents. Two articles accuse Mr. Paxton of improperly intervening in Mr. Paul’s efforts to secure law enforcement records related to searches of the businessman’s property in 2019.
Disregard of official duty: Mr. Paxton is accused of misusing his official powers by engaging Brandon Cammack, a Houston attorney with five years of legal experience, as a special prosecutor to start an investigation challenging the validity of the federal case against Mr. Paul. Mr. Cammack issued more than 30 grand jury subpoenas “in an effort to benefit Nate Paul or Paul’s entities,” according to the House impeachment document.
Disregard of official duty: Mr. Paxton is accused of violating the state’s whistle-blower statute by firing top staff members who first disclosed “his illegal acts and improper conduct.”
Misapplication of public resources: Mr. Paxton allegedly ordered “a sham investigation” into the whistle-blower complaints and published a lengthy written report containing “false or misleading statements” in his defense.
Disregard of official duties: Mr. Paxton’s $3.3 million settlement with four former staff members in a whistle-blower suit “conspicuously delayed the discovery of facts and testimony at trial, to Paxton’s advantage,” according to charges in one of the articles.
Constitutional bribery: Two of the articles accuse Mr. Paxton of engaging in bribery when Mr. Paul renovated the attorney general’s home and employed a woman with whom Mr. Paxton was having an affair. In turn, the real estate investor received “favorable legal assistance” from and “specialized access” to the attorney general’s office.
Other articles charge that Mr. Paxton’s misconduct alleged throughout the impeachment case constitutes “conspiracy and attempted conspiracy,” “misappropriation of public resources,” “dereliction of duty” and “unfitness for office.”
A final article, “abuse of public trust,” says Mr. Paxton misused his office “in a manner calculated to subvert the lawful operation of the government” and, as a result, brought “the Office of Attorney General into scandal and disrepute.”
The Senate voted to hold “in abeyance” four of the articles that deal with separate accusations that Mr. Paxton abused his office for conduct related to his indictment for securities fraud. After senators vote to either convict or acquit Mr. Paxton of the 16 primary articles of impeachment, the Senate will hold a separate vote, by simple majority, to consider or dismiss the remaining four. If they vote to consider those articles, then further proceedings would be scheduled for a future date.
Show more
Sept. 5, 2023, 9:29 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
More than 100 spectators arrived early at the Capitol. Alicia Davis, a candidate challenging the Texas House speaker, Dade Phelan, drove five hours from Jasper, in East Texas, to show support for Ken Paxton. “It’s an embarrassment,” she said of the impeachment.
Sept. 5, 2023, 9:19 a.m. ETSept. 5, 2023
Sept. 5, 2023
J. David Goodman
Reporting from Austin
Senators arrived at the Capitol early Tuesday. One conservative Republican, Bob Hall, appeared to be cheered by a crowd of Paxton supporters as he walked by.
Ken Paxton, now in his third term as Texas attorney general, has weathered accusations of criminal conduct in large part by using the office to aggressively pursue legal cases that appeal to conservatives, and by strongly aligning himself with former President Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Paxton has mounted dozens of challenges to the Biden administration, taking advantage of the power and attention he can generate as the top law enforcement officer in the nation’s largest Republican state.
“There is no other state in this country with so much influence over the fate of our nation,” Mr. Paxton said in May as the Texas House prepared to impeach him. “This is solely because of the relentless challenges I bring against Biden’s unconstitutional policy agenda.”
A Focus on Immigration
For years, Mr. Paxton has been leading a coalition of Republican-led states in opposition to Obama-era policies that allowed migrants who came to the United States as children to remain in the country under a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
Republican critics have argued that the program encouraged unauthorized immigration and rewarded those who engaged in it. Supporters said it allowed people now residing in the United States, many of whom had no say in being brought illegally, a chance to get a college education and work. The unresolved legal case has left many immigrants in a state of limbo.
During the Trump administration, Mr. Paxton strongly defended the president’s policies, including a ban on travel from certain countries.
After President Biden took office, Mr. Paxton successfully forced the administration to reinstate Mr. Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy, which forces migrants to stay in that country while awaiting immigration hearings, rather than waiting in the United States.
This year, days before he was impeached by the Texas House, Mr. Paxton sued the Biden administration over its use of an online application that allows people to book immigration hearing appointments from Mexico before presenting themselves at the border, a means of preventing a sudden surge in arrivals. Mr. Paxton argued, again, that the policy encourages illegal immigration.
A ‘Tip of the Spear’
Mr. Paxton, who has been suspended from his duties pending the results of the Senate trial, has been active in other areas as well.
He led a group of states in a challenge to the Affordable Care Act and, more recently, was at the forefront of a coalition of 17 states suing Google for alleged antitrust violations, arguing that the company had hurt consumers by exploiting its market power over digital advertising.
Mr. Paxton has presented himself as the “tip of the spear” for conservatives in legal fights and has been eager to use his office to oppose transgender rights and abortion. More than a year before the Texas Legislature passed a law to bar transition medical care to minors, Mr. Paxton wrote a legal opinion defining such care as “child abuse.”
Challenging the 2020 Election
Mr. Paxton was among the most prominent public officials to take up the legal challenge to Mr. Trump’s defeat in 2020, filing suit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over their handling of the vote.
But the effort solidified Mr. Paxton firmly within the Trump wing of the Republican Party at a time when Mr. Paxton’s legal troubles were mounting.
Mr. Paxton found a new wellspring of support from Trump voters who continued to believe that the election had been stolen. Mr. Paxton appeared on stage at Mr. Trump’s rally in Washington on Jan. 6.
“I want you to know that Texas fights,” he told the crowd. “We will not quit fighting.”
With television ads and text messages, direct mail and billboards, supporters of the embattled Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, have embarked on an escalating campaign of political pressure, backed by hard-right billionaires, aimed at trying to sway the outcome of Mr. Paxton’s upcoming impeachment trial.
The targets of their efforts are narrow: the 19 Republican members of the State Senate who will act as jurors in the trial, set to begin on Tuesday, and decide whether allegations of corruption and abuse of power are serious enough to warrant permanently removing and barring Mr. Paxton from office.
It has drawn in a range of conservative figures on both sides, with Rick Perry, the former Texas governor, and Karl Rove, the political consultant to former President George W. Bush, arguing in support of the impeachment process, and Steve Bannon, the former Trump political adviser, lampooning it as a Democrat-inspired witch hunt.
“We want the entire MAGA movement to understand that what’s going on in Texas is not just about Texas,” Mr. Bannon told his podcast audience this month.
The wrangling over Mr. Paxton’s fate has reflected the same deep Republican divisions that emerged in Georgia over the indictment of Donald J. Trump, raising again the question of whether Republicans are willing to hold fellow conservatives to account — and whether, if they do so, they can survive a primary.
Mr. Paxton has so far managed to survive politically under both a criminal indictment and the looming impeachment, in part because he has become a key player on the right flank of the conservative legal movement. He has mounted aggressive challenges to the Biden administration, particularly over its immigration policies, and led coalitions of Republican states against Obama-era programs such as the Affordable Care Act and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which protects many migrants from deportation if they came to the United States as children.
He secured Mr. Trump’s endorsement in a hard-fought primary last year, after demonstrating his willingness to contest the results of the 2020 election in court. An outspoken partisan fighter, he addressed the crowd at a rally for Mr. Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, that preceded an insurrection at the Capitol.
Yet those conservative credentials may not be enough to help Mr. Paxton survive what promises to be the most significant test he has faced. Though Republicans have a clear majority in the Texas Legislature, the most stridently partisan members do not always hold sway.
In May, a majority of Republicans in the House joined with Democrats to impeach Mr. Paxton, disturbed by his conduct in office — including longstanding allegations of corruption and a criminal indictment for securities fraud — and his effort to obtain $3.3 million in state funding to settle a lawsuit brought against him by some of his senior aides, who became whistle-blowers.
“It’s unconscionable to defend and protect someone who advocates our policies if they’ve abused their office,” said David Simpson, a former Republican member of the Texas House. “I would hope that instead of defending these people, we would say we support their policies but we don’t support their behavior, and ask them to step down.”
Mr. Paxton, who has called his impeachment by the House “shameful” and denied any wrongdoing, has strongly aligned himself with Mr. Trump, seeking to capture some of the Republican outrage over the multiple indictments of the former president. “Everybody should fear the weaponization of state power they have harnessed to destroy him,” Mr. Paxton wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, alongside a smiling photo of himself with Mr. Trump.
A well-funded political action committee, Defend Texas Liberty, has begun targeting some Republican members of the Texas House who voted to impeach Mr. Paxton.
“People know this is a political witch hunt. They’re doing it to Trump, they’re trying to do it to Paxton,” Jonathan Stickland, president of Defend Texas Liberty, said this month on conservative talk radio.
Mr. Stickland, a former member of the Texas House, promised that the group would spend “an epic ton of money” in advance of the impeachment. “And if they stand against that, then every one of these bums will be kicked out,” he said.
Already, the group has begun going after Republican legislators whom they perceive as insufficiently conservative.
“Glenn Rogers joined 61 Democrats to impeach Ken Paxton,” one billboard read, referring to a representative from west of Fort Worth who has been the target of hard-right Republicans in recent primaries.
“Over 70 percent of Republicans voted the same way I did,” Mr. Rogers responded in a recent interview on CBS. “They conveniently left that fact off.” He added that the evidence against Mr. Paxton was compelling. “No one that I talked to felt that he was innocent,” he said.
By a vote of 121 to 23 in late May, the House sent 20 articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial. As a result of the vote, Mr. Paxton has been suspended from office pending the trial. The articles of impeachment include allegations that Mr. Paxton used his office to benefit an Austin donor and real estate developer, Nate Paul, and that Mr. Paul helped conceal Mr. Paxton’s extramarital affair and paid for renovations on one of the attorney general’s houses.
Mr. Paxton’s lawyers have denied that there was any wrongdoing and moved to dismiss the articles of impeachment without any trial.
But other prominent Republicans, including Mr. Perry, a three-term governor beloved by many in the state, have said the evidence is serious and should be considered. “I know that processes can be abused,” Mr. Perry wrote, citing charges he had himself faced as governor that alleged he had abused his power, which were ultimately dismissed. “But that isn’t what I see here,” he said of Mr. Paxton’s case.
This month, the House impeachment managers, who are acting as the prosecution in the trial, released thousands of pages of evidence. They included transcripts of interviews of the senior aides who were disturbed at what they saw as Mr. Paxton’s use of the office to thwart an investigation into Mr. Paul, and documents suggesting Mr. Paul helped Mr. Paxton visit a woman with whom he was having an affair using a pseudonymous Uber account under the name “Dave P.”
Mr. Paul was indicted in June on charges of financial fraud for making false statements on loan applications, and entered a plea of not guilty. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Mr. Paxton’s.
In recent days, supporters of the suspended attorney general have turned their attention to the upcoming trial and have directly targeted Republican state senators — including Bryan Hughes, the conservative author of Texas’ restrictive abortion ban in 2021 — urging them to vote to acquit Mr. Paxton, or even dismiss the articles of impeachment altogether.
“These all hold themselves to be, you know, conservative people,” Lauren Davis, who is running to be the chair of the Dallas County Republican Party, said as she singled out six senators during an interview on “War Room,” Mr. Bannon’s show. “So we just need to make sure they stay conservative.”
One of the ads in support of Mr. Paxton ran on Fox News before the 2024 Republican presidential debate last week. “Stop the impeachment,” the ad said, urging viewers to contact certain Republican state senators.
But Republicans in the Senate may be even less susceptible to political pressure than their House counterparts: The majority are not up for re-election again until 2026.
Mr. Paxton’s lawyers have filed motions to dismiss each of the articles of impeachment on various legal grounds. The Senate could choose to do so next week. If the case proceeds, Mr. Paxton could be removed from office with a two-thirds vote to convict on any of the articles, an outcome that would require at least nine Republicans to join with all 12 Democrats.
The recent lobbying effort suggested a concern that things may not be trending in Mr. Paxton’s favor. But political consultants, lobbyists and former legislators cautioned that the outcome of the impeachment trial — only the third in more than a century in Texas — was still very much up in the air.
Mr. Paxton has continued to enjoy support, particularly among a coterie of Republican donors. He has raised about $3 million for his own campaign since the impeachment vote, half of which came from just four donors, including the West Texas billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks.
Defend Texas Liberty, the pro-Paxton political action committee, has spent another $3.5 million since the impeachment vote, almost all of it donated by Mr. Dunn and Mr. Wilks. Most of the money went to the campaign of the lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, who leads the State Senate and will be presiding over the impeachment trial: a $1 million contribution and a $2 million loan.
Mr. Patrick has declined to discuss the contributions, which became public shortly after he issued a sweeping gag order on discussion of the trial by House members, senators, witnesses, lawyers and other participants.
The largesse of conservative donors has helped fund an ongoing battle between Republican power centers in Texas in which the impeachment is only the latest front. Mr. Dunn and Mr. Wilks have funded outsider conservative candidates and Republican primary challengers around the state, including one who unsuccessfully took on Gov. Greg Abbott last year. Mr. Abbott has not commented on Mr. Paxton’s impeachment.
Their committee, and an earlier iteration, known as Empower Texans, has clashed with another powerful Republican group, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which strongly supported a more moderate Republican challenger to Mr. Paxton last year. Mr. Paxton won handily and went on to easily win a third term in the November election.
Mr. Stickland, of Defend Texas Liberty, said the impeachment had been “bankrolled by Texans for Lawsuit Reform.” The group, a longstanding contributor to Texas candidates, gave a total of more than $500,000 in donations to more than 70 campaigns since the legislative session in the spring, including to several legislators who voted against impeachment, campaign records show.
The head of Texans for Lawsuit Reform declined a request for comment, citing the gag order, because he said he had been placed on the witness list for Mr. Paxton’s defense.
The four men behind the whistle-blower lawsuit that landed the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, in political peril were once employees and allies whom Mr. Paxton handpicked to advance his conservative agenda.
The four staff members — James Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar — joined forces when they decided that the actions they saw involving Mr. Paxton were too troubling to let stand.
They filed the whistle-blower lawsuit in 2020 after Mr. Paxton ignored their repeated expressions of concern. According to the 372-page filing that laid out their allegations, the four staff members fell out with Mr. Paxton after the F.B.I. in 2019 raided the home of Nate Paul, a wealthy real estate investor in Austin and a donor to Mr. Paxton. Convinced that the authorities had acted unlawfully, Mr. Paul enlisted Mr. Paxton’s assistance.
In the lawsuit, the four men allege that Mr. Paxton not only used his influence to set up and attend a meeting for Mr. Paul and his lawyer with the staff of the local district attorney’s office, but had also assigned a private attorney to look into Mr. Paul’s concerns.
The four said in the complaint that they believed Mr. Paxton “had violated Texas criminal law, including but not limited to the laws regarding bribery, improper influence, and abuse of office.”
Mr. Paxton, they said in legal documents, “has flagrantly violated and apparently believes he is above the very law he promotes on his own website.”
Mr. Paxton responded by suspending and later firing them.
Earlier this year, Mr. Paxton said he had reached a settlement with them. But more trouble followed when he asked the state to pay them $3.3 million in compensation, leading a Texas House committee investigating his actions to schedule a vote Saturday afternoon on whether to impeach Mr. Paxton.
During a news conference on Friday, Mr. Paxton called the efforts to impeach him “illegal” and “political theater,” and he added that he was not provided with an opportunity to challenge allegations made against him.
He also said he was confident the calls for his impeachment will not prevail. “I hope the House makes the right decision, but if not, I look forward to a quick resolution in the Texas Senate,” he said.
These are the four whistle blowers.
James Blake Brickman
Mr. Brickman was deputy attorney general for policy and strategy initiatives from February 2020 until his termination in Oct. 20, 2020, according to the legal filings. The filings said that Mr. Brickman and Mr. Paxton had a good working relationship before the scandals surfaced and that at Mr. Paxton’s request, Mr. Brickman moved with his wife and three children to Austin to work with him. The filings allege that months before Mr. Brickman began expressing concern about Mr. Paxton’s behavior, the attorney general regularly lauded his work, once calling him an “amazing addition,” to his office.
But after the staff members questioned the efforts to assist Mr. Paul, the relationship soured, the filings say. Mr. Brickman was asked to step away from key meetings, a move that he said in court documents was intended to “diminish Brickman’s duties and responsibilities to punish him, to try to intimidate and embarrass or humiliate him.”
Before coming to work for Mr. Paxton, Mr. Brickman was the chief of staff for former Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky, a Republican. He has also served as chief of staff for former Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, also a Republican.
David Maxwell
For 10 years Mr. Maxwell oversaw a team of about 350 employees with the Texas attorney general’s office, where he worked as the deputy director and director of the law enforcement division. The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Maxwell came into conflict with Mr. Paxton when he learned of Mr. Paxton’s attempt to insert himself in the federal inquiry connected to Mr. Paul. In the lawsuit he filed with fellow whistle-blowers, Mr. Maxwell and Mark Penley asserted that “many of Paul’s complaints were outside state jurisdiction.”
In legal filings, Mr. Maxwell described himself as an “honest, thorough and tough law enforcement investigator.” His career in law enforcement spanned about 50 years, including 35 of them with the Texas Department of Public Safety, most of that time as a Texas Ranger, according to legal documents.
Mr. Maxwell is also known in Texas for helping to identify the man who raped and fatally stabbed his sister, Diane Maxwell Jackson, decades after the crime, which took place in 1969. A judge sentenced her killer to life in prison in 2004.
Mark Penley
Mr. Penley worked as the deputy attorney general for criminal justice under Mr. Paxton for just over a year, from Oct. 8, 2019 until Nov. 2, 2020. During that time, he supervised a team of about 220 employees in various divisions, including criminal prosecutions, special prosecutions, criminal appeals and crime victims services, according to legal filings. Mr. Penley, a retired federal prosecutor, has spent nearly 40 years practicing law.
Mr. Penley also found himself at odds with Mr. Paxton several times as Mr. Paxton worked to help Mr. Paul navigate his legal problems. According to the lawsuit, Mr. Penley at one point refused to sign a memo approving the hiring of the special prosecutor assigned to the raid at Mr. Paul’s properties.
Ryan Vassar
Until late 2020, Mr. Vassar served as a deputy attorney general for legal counsel for the attorney general’s office. He was the last of four former staff members from Mr. Paxton’s office to be ousted after the accusations of corruption surfaced against Mr. Paxton. Mr. Vassar said in the lawsuit that he refused many requests from his former boss to help unearth information that would help Mr. Paul.
Mr. Vassar had a long legal career in Texas before the scandal broke. Most recently, he has taken a job as a general counsel with the Cicero Institute, a nonprofit public policy organization, according to the institute’s website. For three years, Mr. Vassar worked as a legal clerk for Justice Don R. Willett of the Supreme Court of Texas. He graduated with an accounting degree from Texas Tech University and a law degree from South Texas College of Law Houston.
The relationship between Ken Paxton and Nate Paul, a real estate developer, is the center of the impeachment charges against the Texas attorney general. But who is Mr. Paul and how did he become part of the biggest political scandals in the state’s history?
Mr. Paul was once heralded as one of the most successful real estate entrepreneurs in Austin. He founded the company World Class Holdings in 2007 and a decade later had amassed 10 million square feet of commercial space, including a large inventory of self-storage facilities. In 2018, he donated $25,000 to Mr. Paxton’s campaign, according to records.
His legal woes soon followed. A year later, the F.B.I. raided his 9,175-square-foot home and downtown offices during an inquiry into his finances. Mr. Paul then allegedly asked his friend, Mr. Paxton, to help him find out details about the federal investigation, a potential violation of the state’s open records laws, investigators with a Texas House committee testified in late May.
Mr. Paxton was accused by whistle-blowers and investigators of arranging a meeting between Mr. Paul and the local district attorney’s office, and later appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Mr. Paul’s claims about law enforcement abuses, even after Mr. Paxton’s close aides and staff members raised alarms about possible violations.
It also emerged that Mr. Paul’s company, on Mr. Paxton’s recommendation, had hired as a project manager a woman with whom Mr. Paxton was having an extramarital affair.
In June, Mr. Paul was charged in federal court with making false statements to financial institutions by telling mortgage companies and credit unions that he had more money that he actually did. An eight-count felony indictment accused Mr. Paul of falsifying documents to obtain $172 million in loans that he otherwise would not have qualified for.
Mr. Paul has denied any wrongdoing. He faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million if convicted on a single count, prosecutors said.
Show more.
Thanks for reading Interest of Justice! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Such a stupid indictment. Money scams on a technicality? Haha
That's why they have a pseudo court run the impeachment, not a real court. 😂