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☆ Prosecution Rests in Paxton Impeachment, Focusing on Favors
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( J. David Goodman | More About J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Republican-led prosecution rested its case on Wednesday for impeaching the attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, ending on a central claim: that an Austin real estate investor paid for Mr. Paxton’s home renovations in exchange for favors. The testimony about countertops and cabinetry — and a bill for $121,000 — came on the seventh day of the trial. It had appeared, at the start, that the day would focus on another allegation: that Mr. Paul had helped Mr. Paxton conduct an extramarital affair. The prosecution called the woman, Laura Olson, a former staff member to a Republican state senator and a witness whose testimony had been highly anticipated. Mr. Paxton’s lawyers immediately objected, and Ms. Olson waited around in the Texas Capitol, mostly at a table in the legislative library.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Paxton’s, general, Nate Paul, Paul, Paxton, Laura Olson, Olson Organizations: Republican, Mr, Texas Capitol Locations: Texas, Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — How much does an extramarital affair matter to whether Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton keeps his job? Most of the senators are Republicans and one is his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, although she will not have a vote in the verdict. She said Angela Paxton sometimes called the office with questions about her husband’s schedule and that the conversations made staff uncomfortable. Angela Paxton took notes at her desk as Cary testified about the affair that began in 2018, the year Angela was won her senate seat. “We’d be impeaching people for the next 100 years.”___Find AP’s full coverage of the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at: https://apnews.com/hub/ken-paxton

Persons: Ken Paxton, Paxton, Sen, Angela Paxton, —, Tony Buzbee, “, ”, Katherine Cary, Nate Paul, Paul, Jeff Mateer, Paxton's, Ken Paxton's, Ann Johnson, General Paxton, Cary, ” Ken Paxton, Angela, Obama, ” Buzbee, paxton Organizations: Texas, FBI, Democratic, Rep, Labor Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, Cary, Dallas, Austin

From the start, the courtroom drama in the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, has centered on a confrontation between the larger-than-life Houston lawyers brought in by each side to argue the case. In Mr. Paxton’s corner, there is Tony Buzbee, a well-tanned orator and onetime candidate for mayor of Houston, who successfully defended Rick Perry, a former governor of Texas, against charges of abuse of office. Not to be outdone, the House impeachment managers brought in their own big guns: Dick DeGuerin, whose list of clients included the Waco cult leader David Koresh, and Rusty Hardin, a defender of criminally accused athletes like Roger Clemens and Scottie Pippen. The voices of these high-profile lawyers have echoed for days in the towering chamber of the Texas State Senate, underscoring the unusual nature of the case. The impeachment trial, now expected to wrap up by week’s end, is the first of a statewide official in Texas in more than a century, and it has become a showcase for the deepening rifts within the Republican Party, both in the state and nationally.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Houston, Tony Buzbee, Rick Perry, Dick DeGuerin, David Koresh, Rusty Hardin, Roger Clemens, Scottie Pippen Organizations: Waco, Texas State Senate, Republican Party Locations: Texas, Houston

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The historic impeachment trial that could remove Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from office began with testimony about an extramarital affair and the Republican's former top aides testifying they felt compelled to report him to the FBI. “But I didn’t owe General Paxton anything.”PAXTON MOSTLY ABSENT FROM TRIALSenate rules only required Paxton to be present at the start of the impeachment trial. Much of the key testimony to come is likely from former staff inside Paxton's office, including the whistleblowers who took their concerns to federal criminal investigators. Paxton is just the third state official to be impeached in Texas' nearly 200-year history, and the first statewide officeholder since former Gov. ___Find AP’s full coverage of the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at: https://apnews.com/hub/ken-paxton

Persons: Ken Paxton, Paxton, Sen, Angela Paxton, Nate Paul, Jeff Mateer, Paxton’s, Ryan Bangert, “, ” Mateer, Mateer, Paul, ” Bangert, Mitch Little, Ryan Vassar, ” Vassar, ” PAXTON, Rusty Hardin, Donald Trump Jr, George P, Bush, George W, James “ Pa ” Ferguson, ___, paxton Organizations: Republican Texas, Texas Senate, FBI, “, Republicans, Paxton, Gov Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — 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 in the state Senate but prohibited from participating. But how much Paxton himself will take part in the historic trial that resumes Wednesday is up in the air. Paxton pleaded not guilty Tuesday but did not return for opening arguments, when his attorneys sharply criticized the impeachment and urged Republican senators to acquit. The vote immediately suspended Paxton and made him only the third sitting official in Texas’ nearly 200-year history to be impeached. What they are doing is taking away the vote of the majority of the people of Texas,” Bowen said.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Paxton, Paxton’s, “, Dan Cogdell, Jeff Mateer, Mateer, “ Mr, ”, Andrew Murr, Biden, Austin, Nate Paul, Tony Buzbee, Paxton “, Paul, Gov, Dan Patrick, Sen, Angela Paxton, —, Peter Bowen, ” Bowen Organizations: Texas, FBI, Senators, Republican, “, Capitol, Texas Republicans, Trump, Texas ’, Senate Locations: AUSTIN, Texas, acquit, May, Houston

☆ Former Top Deputy Says Ken Paxton Took Unusual Actions to Help Donor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( J. David Goodman | More About J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A similar split appeared to be present among the senators, based on their votes on the pretrial motions to dismiss on Tuesday. The rest were mixed, but a two-thirds majority supported the trial, suggesting a desire to hear the evidence. Mr. Paul, who was indicted on federal financial fraud charges in June, has denied any wrongdoing. Mr. Paxton, who has been under state indictment for securities fraud since 2015, pleaded not guilty to all the articles of impeachment on Tuesday. Mr. Mateer and others confronted Mr. Paxton about what seemed to be his unusual concern for legal matters involving Mr. Paul.

Persons: Paxton, Paul, Mr, Mateer, “, Nate Paul, ” Organizations: . Six Republicans, Court, Capital, Mitte Foundation Locations: Travis County, Central Texas

☆ Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial for Texas’ Attorney General to Begin With Motions to Dismiss
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( J. David Goodman | David Montgomery | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

“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. Yet those conservative credentials may not be enough to help Mr. Paxton survive what promises to be the most significant test he has faced. 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. Mr. Abbott has not commented on Mr. Paxton’s impeachment. Mr. Paxton won handily and went on to easily win a third term in the November election.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Paxton, Rick Perry, Karl Rove, George W, Bush, Steve Bannon, Trump, MAGA, ” Mr, Bannon, Donald J, Biden, Obama, Mr, Mike Osborne, they’ve, ”, David Simpson, “, ” Jonathan Stickland, Stickland, “ Glenn Rogers, Rogers, Nate Paul, Paul, general’s, Perry, Dave P, Paxton’s, Bryan Hughes, Eric Gay, ” Lauren Davis, Bannon’s, —, Texas —, Tim Dunn, Farris Wilks, Dunn, Wilks, Dan Patrick, Patrick, Greg Abbott, Abbott Organizations: Republican, State Senate, Democrat, Trump, Affordable, Mr, Jan, Republicans, Texas Legislature, Texas Capitol, ., The New York Times, Texas House, Defend Texas Liberty, Fort Worth, CBS, “, Senate, May ., Dallas County Republican Party, Fox News, West, Gov, Texans Locations: Texas, Austin, Georgia, United States, Paxton, Fort, May, West Texas

☆ A Conservative Push to Save Ken Paxton
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( J. David Goodman | More About J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

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. But the effort to save Mr. Paxton, who is seen by many hard-core conservatives as their legal standard-bearer, is also the latest proxy in the broader fight over the future direction of the party, both in Texas and nationally. 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.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Paxton, Rick Perry, Karl Rove, George W, Bush, Steve Bannon, Trump Organizations: Republican, State Senate, Democrat Locations: Texas

☆ Investor Linked to Paxton’s Impeachment Is Arrested on Federal Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Edgar Sandoval | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The businessman at the center of the allegations that led to the impeachment of the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, has been arrested and was scheduled to appear in federal court in Austin on Friday, according to federal prosecutors. The man — Nate Paul, a real estate investor in Austin and a donor to Mr. Paxton’s campaign — was taken into custody Thursday afternoon by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to jail records. Lora Makowski, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Austin, said that Mr. Paul would appear before a magistrate judge Friday morning. It was unclear what federal charges Mr. Paul was facing. Image Nate Paul Credit... Laura Skelding/Austin American-Statesman, via Associated PressMr. Paul became a focus of the impeachment proceedings against Mr. Paxton last month.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Nate Paul, —, Lora Makowski, Mr, Paul, Nate Paul Credit, Laura Skelding, Paxton Organizations: Federal Bureau of, U.S, Austin American, Statesman, Associated Press, Texas, Senate Locations: Texas, Austin, Travis

☆ Donor Connected to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Impeachment Is Arrested
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/donor-connected-to-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxtons-impeachment-is-arrested-9120594f

Persons: Dow Jones, 9120594f Locations: texas

☆ Ken Paxton’s Home Renovation Payment Disclosure Shows New Ties to Donor
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | Mark Maremont | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ken-paxtons-home-renovation-payment-disclosure-shows-new-ties-to-donor-d2f7c899

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Viewer’s Guide to Ken Paxton’s Impeachment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Karl Rove | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/viewers-guide-to-ken-paxtons-impeachment-texas-ag-corruption-affair-480694cc

Persons: Dow Jones Locations: texas

☆ How Angela Paxton Could Help Decide the Fate of Her Embattled Husband, Ken
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last September, a process server arrived at the home of Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, as part of a lawsuit filed by groups trying to help women get abortions out of state. Mr. Paxton’s wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, greeted him at the door and told him her husband was on the phone. Later, Ms. Paxton was seen out in the driveway, firing up a pickup truck and swinging open a rear passenger door. At that point, the process server later recounted, Mr. Paxton ran from the garage, climbed into the truck, and the couple disappeared down the street, leaving him to deposit the subpoena on the ground. The question of how Ms. Paxton, a second-term Republican senator from north of Dallas, would handle that responsibility — whether she would choose or be required to recuse herself from the decision — has been hanging over the State Capitol since last week, when Mr. Paxton was impeached by a wide margin of Republicans and Democrats in the Texas House.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Paxton’s, Angela Paxton, Paxton, — Organizations: State Capitol, Democrats, Texas House Locations: Texas, Dallas

☆ Texas Governor Names Interim Attorney General After Paxton Impeachment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( David Montgomery | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Why It MattersIn announcing his choice, Mr. Abbott cited Mr. Scott’s past experience as a former deputy attorney general who “knows how the Office of Attorney General operates.”Mr. Scott served as Mr. Abbott’s top deputy for civil litigation when the Republican governor served as attorney general before becoming the state’s chief executive in 2015. Mr. Scott also served on an interim basis as Texas secretary of state, the chief elections officer appointed by the governor, for just over a year before stepping down in December 2022. During the political turbulence following Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Donald Trump, Mr. Scott briefly represented the former president in an unsuccessful lawsuit against the certification of Pennsylvania’s vote after other attorneys quit. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and the litigation chief Chris Hilton, who has made news recently by denouncing lawmakers’ moves toward impeachment. “That was true regardless of who the secretary was, including John Scott,” Mr. Taylor said.

Persons: Abbott, “, Mr, Scott, Abbott’s, ” Mr, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Paxton, Judd Stone, Antonin Scalia, Ted Cruz, Chris Hilton, Sam Taylor, John Scott, Taylor, Gov, Dan Patrick Organizations: Republican, Human Services, Daily, The Texas Tribune, U.S, Supreme, The Texas Senate, Senate Locations: Texas, Ted Cruz of Texas

☆ Takeaways From the Impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Representative Ann Johnson, a Democrat and former prosecutor, laid into Mr. Paxton from the floor on Saturday, saying he had broken laws that could lead to jail time. She also described what she said were senior members of Mr. Paxton’s staff whose integrity had compelled them to speak up about his behavior. She said one employee observed Mr. Paxton requesting expensive renovations to his home that would be taken care of by his friend and donor. When he continued to be paid by Mr. Paxton, she said, the man returned the money to Mr. Paxton’s campaign. After the impeachment vote, Mr. Trump personally vilified Mr. Phelan.

☆ Long Before Impeachment, G.O.P. Rifts Were Growing in Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The impeachment of the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, by a majority of his fellow Republicans has exposed an undercurrent of division and discontent that is roiling the Republican Party in the most populous state where it still enjoys near total political control. While the vote in the House of Representatives on Saturday tore suddenly through the heart of Texas politics, the underlying resentments had been gathering force for months, if not years, not over individual personalities but over how Republicans should use their power and what shape the party should take in the future. The fight over Mr. Paxton’s impeachment, which drew in national Republican figures including former President Donald J. Trump, offered a stark demonstration of two increasingly warring currents in Republican politics. Though the eruption was unexpected — as of a week ago there was little public indication that an impeachment could be imminent — it was the culmination of a session of the Texas Legislature, where Republicans dominate both chambers, that was defined by steadily increasing intraparty acrimony.

Follow our live updates for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment proceedings. The Republican-dominated Texas House has scheduled a vote on the impeachment of the state’s Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, for Saturday at 1 p.m. In February, Mr. Paxton agreed to pay $3.3 million in a settlement with the four former senior aides. Many of the investigators’ findings about Mr. Paxton were already known publicly, from the allegations made in the aides’ lawsuit. In 2015, his first year in that office, Mr. Paxton was charged with felonies related to securities fraud and booked in a county jail outside Dallas.

☆ How Fighting for Conservative Causes Has Helped Ken Paxton Survive Legal Woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A review of surveillance footage turned up the culprit: Ken Paxton, who was a Texas state senator. A few years later, Mr. Paxton, by then the state’s attorney general, suffered a more serious political blow when he was indicted on charges of securities fraud. Then in 2020, several of his most senior staff members at the attorney general's office accused him of bribery, corruption and abuse of office. Mr. Paxton has managed to survive it all, in large part because of the key role he has played as one of the most aggressive figures in the conservative legal movement. He described Mr. Paxton’s style as “legal warfare.”

[1/2] Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks ahead of a rally held by former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Robstown, Texas, U.S., October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Go NakamuraJan 30 (Reuters) - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton must face an ethics lawsuit by state attorney regulators over a case he brought challenging results of the 2020 election, according to a court ruling posted on Monday. The ruling is a setback for Paxton, who had argued that his work as the top Texas state lawyer was beyond the reach of Texas attorney ethics regulators. The Texas State Bar, an agency that oversees licensed attorneys in the state, filed the lawsuit against Paxton in state court in Dallas last May. The state bar countered that Texas attorney conduct rules "apply to any attorney engaged in the practice of law regardless of their position."

DALLAS — Well before jumping into the Texas attorney general's race, Democrat Rochelle Garza beat back a Trump administration attempt to stop a detained immigrant teenager from getting an abortion. Bob Daemmrich / Zuma via Alamy fileGarza has already made history by being the first Latina nominee for Texas attorney general. I’m a mother and I’m here to beat criminally indicted Ken Paxton,” Garza told supporters gathered at a Chocolate Secrets in Dallas. Polls have shown Garza within 2 to 7 percentage points of Paxton with all Texas voters. Tony Gutierrez / AP filePaxton was recently in the headlines again for fleeing his home to avoid being served a subpoena to testify in a lawsuit challenging Texas’ abortion ban.

☆ Texas AG Paxton fled home in a truck driven by his wife to avoid subpoena, process server alleges
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton allegedly fled his home in a truck driven by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, on Monday to avoid being served a subpoena, a process server said in an affidavit filed in federal court. About 20 minutes later, Paxton left the house and Herrera approached him on the driveway. “I walked up the driveway approaching Mr. Paxton and called him by his name," Herrera wrote. “A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton ran from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side," Herrera wrote. Last May, Paxton defeated Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush — the son of former Florida Gov.

☆ In Texas Attorney General Race, Democrat Targets Ken Paxton’s Legal Problems as He Courts Conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Elizabeth Findell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AUSTIN, Texas—Democratic civil-rights lawyer Rochelle Garza is challenging Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in a race where the incumbent is emphasizing his close ties to former President Donald Trump and counting on the loyalty of the state’s most conservative voters, while his opponent tries to make his legal scandals the focus. Democrats see opportunity this election season in Ms. Garza’s campaign, which is based in part on trying to win moderates who might otherwise vote Republican but are concerned that Mr. Paxton has been indicted on securities fraud charges and is being probed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, after former aides accused him of misusing his office.

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