Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton again stayed away from his impeachment trial Wednesday as considered one of his former aides who reported him to the FBI in 2020 testified that he confronted the Republican about why he appeared to maintain going out of his technique to help considered one of his donors.
“The issue is the office is getting used for the advantage of one person,” said Jeff Mateer, who was Paxton’s second-in-command on the Texas attorney generals’ office.
Mateer is the primary key witness in a trial that would last weeks within the Texas Senate and centers on allegations that Paxton, who has been shadowed for years by a criminal indictment and a separate ongoing FBI investigation, abused his office to assist an Austin real estate developer named Nate Paul. Their relationship is central to the case led by Republican impeachment managers that Paxton must be faraway from office.
Mateer is considered one of greater than 100 individuals who have been identified as potential witnesses for the trial, in response to an inventory obtained by The Associated Press. They include other former close Paxton aides and a girl with whom Paxton acknowledged having an extramarital affair and who worked for Paul.
But how much Paxton himself will participate within the historic trial is up within the air. Facing the gravest threat yet to his political future, Paxton left the beginning of the proceedings early and can’t be compelled to testify over accusations of corruption which have dogged considered one of Texas’ strongest figures for years.
Paxton, who just isn’t required to attend the entire trial, pleaded not guilty before his attorneys began their defense Tuesday by sharply criticizing the impeachment and urging Republican senators to acquit.
“I actually have one easy ask: Do the proper things,” attorney Dan Cogdell said Tuesday. “And the proper thing is to vote not guilty.”
The testimony of Jeff Mateer, an evangelical Christian lawyer who describes himself as far to the political right, underscores how Paxton’s impeachment is a rare instance of a celebration searching for to carry considered one of its own accountable in a bitterly partisan age.
If convicted, Paxton might be barred from elected office in Texas. Senators on Tuesday rejected quite a few motions to dismiss the costs against Paxton, who just isn’t required to attend all of the proceedings.
Mateer took the stand with few onlookers within the Senate gallery for what’s Texas’ first impeachment trial in nearly a half century. On Tuesday, just a few dozen Paxton supporters got here to observe the beginning of the proceedings, a few of whom traveled tons of of miles. But on Wednesday, fewer than 40 members of the general public looked on because the trial resumed.
For years, many Texas Republicans have resisted criticizing or facing head-on the litany of legal troubles surrounding Paxton, who has remained popular among the many hard right by aligning himself closely to Trump and rushing his office into lawsuits which have halted priorities of the Biden administration.
Paul was indicted this summer on charges of constructing false statements to a bank to secure greater than $170 million in loans. Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee said Paxton “gave nothing of significance” to Paul and framed the proceedings as an try and overturn the need of voters.
The Republican-led House voted 121-23 to question Paxton in May, with the 20 articles of impeachment including abuse of public trust, unfitness for office and bribery. The vote immediately suspended Paxton and made him only the third sitting official in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to be impeached.
His future is now within the hands of a Senate stacked with ideological allies and a presiding judge, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who loaned $125,000 to Paxton’s last reelection campaign. One member of the Republican majority within the chamber is his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, but while she will attend the trial, she is barred from voting on whether to convict or acquit.
A two-thirds majority — or 21 senators — is required for conviction, meaning that if all 12 Democrats vote against Paxton, not less than nine Republicans would should join them.The impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is underway with live television coverage, a former aide who reported him to the FBI on the witness stand and his wife watching from her desk within the state Senate but prohibited from participating.
But how much Paxton himself will participate within the historic trial that resumes Wednesday is up within the air. Facing the gravest threat yet to his political future, Paxton left the beginning of the proceedings early and can’t be compelled to testify over accusations of corruption which have dogged considered one of Texas’ strongest figures for years.
The trial could last weeks and is starting with testimony from Paxton’s former second-in-command, the primary in a potentially long line of onetime allies who could help Republican impeachment managers construct their case that Paxton must be permanently faraway from office.
Paxton pleaded not guilty Tuesday but didn’t return for opening arguments, when his attorneys sharply criticized the impeachment and urged Republican senators to acquit.
“I actually have one easy ask: Do the proper things,” attorney Dan Cogdell said Tuesday. “And the proper thing is to vote not guilty.”
The testimony of Jeff Mateer, an evangelical Christian lawyer who describes himself as far to the political right, underscores how Paxton’s impeachment is a rare instance of a celebration searching for to carry considered one of its own accountable in a bitterly partisan age. Mateer was the primary witness called by impeachment managers and was expected to return to the stand Wednesday.
If convicted, Paxton might be barred from elected office in Texas. Senators on Tuesday rejected quite a few motions to dismiss the costs against Paxton, who just isn’t required to attend all of the proceedings.
“Mr. Paxton must be faraway from office because he did not protect the state and as an alternative used his elected office for his own profit,” said Republican state Rep. Andrew Murr, considered one of the House impeachment managers.
“In Texas we require more from our public servants than merely avoiding being a criminal,” he said.
Paxton was not the just one who left the primary day of the proceedings early: Although the beginning of the trial was carried live by some Texas stations and his supporters lined up before sunrise outside the Capitol, empty seats within the Senate gallery outnumbered onlookers by the tip.
For years many Texas Republicans have resisted criticizing or facing head-on the litany of legal troubles surrounding Paxton, who has remained popular among the many hard right by aligning himself closely to Trump and rushing his office into lawsuits which have halted priorities of the Biden administration.
At the guts of the case are accusations that Paxton abused his office to assist considered one of his donors, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was indicted this summer on charges of constructing false statements to a bank to secure greater than $170 million in loans.
Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee said Paxton “gave nothing of significance” to Paul and framed the proceedings as an try and overturn the need of voters.
The Republican-led House voted 121-23 to question Paxton in May, with the 20 articles of impeachment including abuse of public trust, unfitness for office and bribery. The vote immediately suspended Paxton and made him only the third sitting official in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to be impeached.
His future is now within the hands of a Senate stacked with ideological allies and a presiding judge, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who loaned $125,000 to his last reelection campaign. One member of the Republican majority within the chamber is his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, but while she will attend the trial, she is barred from voting on whether to convict or acquit.
A two-thirds majority — or 21 senators — is required for conviction, meaning that if all 12 Democrats vote against Paxton, not less than nine Republicans would should join them.
Peter Bowen, 74, drove from Houston at 3:30 a.m. to be in line on the Senate before sunrise Tuesday. He said Paxton, who was reelected to a 3rd term last November, was impeached due to his support for Trump and voters have already made clear where they stand on the allegations.
“All of us knew about them, and we elected him. What they’re doing is taking away the vote of the vast majority of the people of Texas,” Bowen said.
The trial will likely bring forth latest evidence. However the outline of the allegations against Paxton has been public since 2020, when eight of his top deputies reported him to the FBI, setting off an investigation that is still ongoing.
