Current:Home > MarketsDefense set to begin in impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton -TrueNorth Capital Hub
Defense set to begin in impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
View
Date:2025-04-17 04:06:24
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lawyers for impeached Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton were set to begin presenting their defense Thursday as the trial that will determine whether the Republican is removed from office winds down.
Attorneys for the bipartisan group of lawmakers prosecuting Paxton’s impeachment rested their case Wednesday after a woman who was expected to testify about an extramarital affair with Paxton made a sudden appearance at the trial, but never took the stand.
The affair is central to the historic proceedings and accusations that Paxton misused his power to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was under FBI investigation and employed the woman, Laura Olson. One of the 16 articles of impeachment against Paxton alleges that Paul’s hiring of Olson amounted to a bribe.
Olson was called to the stand Wednesday morning in the Texas Senate and waited outside the chamber. But her testimony was delayed for hours before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting as the trial’s judge, said toward the end of the day that Olson would not testify after all. He provided no further explanation but said both sides had agreed to it.
“She is present but has been deemed unavailable to testify,” Patrick said.
Shortly after the announcement, Rusty Hardin, a lawyer for the prosecution said he was resting their side of the case. Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee then moved to end the trial on the grounds of insufficient evidence, but later withdrew the request without a vote shorty before the trial adjourned for the day.
Paxton, who was suspended from office pending the trail’s outcome, is not required to attend the proceedings and has not appeared in the Senate since testimony began last week. As the scene played out Wednesday evening, Paxton posted on social media that he was headed to Maine next week to talk with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson about “the last two weeks in Texas politics.”
“It should be interesting!” he said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Olson had been set to take the stand across from Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who is required to attend the trial but is not allowed to vote on whether her husband should be removed from office. On Monday, she listened from her desk as one of her husband’s former employees testified that the secret relationship took a toll on the attorney general’s office.
Olson also previously worked for Republican state Sen. Donna Campbell, who will have a vote in the trial. That underscores the many entanglements Ken Paxton has in the building as he fights for his political life after years of alleged scandal and criminal charges.
Former staff have testified that Paxton admitted to them that he had an affair. The three-term incumbent, who was reelected last November, has not discussed it publicly.
Olson has not spoken publicly about her relationship with Texas’ top law enforcement officer and his dealings with Paul, who was indicted in June on charges of making false statements to banks. Paul has pleaded not guilty.
Paxton’s former executive aide, Drew Wicker, testified Wednesday, describing Paxton as a friend and saying he met Paul three times, including once to deliver him a manila envelope and another to pick up Paxton’s phone that he had left at Paul’s house.
When Paxton began staying in an Austin hotel in 2020 while his home was being renovated, Wicker said, Paxton would call off his protective detail and have Wicker pick him up and drop him off instead. He said Paxton frequently did things and went places that were not on his schedule, including meetings with Paul, and that he saw Paxton and Olson together at the hotel.
Wicker said the cost for new countertops and cabinetry in Paxton’s kitchen came to about $20,000. He said he grew concerned after the contractor said three times that he would have to “check with Nate.”
Wicker said he told Paxton that he was left with the impression that Paul was involved in the renovations of Paxton’s home.
“It felt like there might be an inappropriate relationship there,” Wicker recalled telling Paxton. He said Paxton said that was not the case.
On cross-examination, Paxton lawyer Buzbee showed Wicker bank statements that Wicker affirmed appeared to show Paxton paying for the renovations to his home. At a June news conference, Buzbee displayed bank records that showed Paxton making that payment to a company run by an associate of Paul one day after the attorney general’s deputies reported him to the FBI.
The FBI investigation of Paxton and Paul’s dealings also scrutinized the renovations, with at least one Austin contractor receiving a grand jury subpoena in 2021 for records related to the work.
___
Bleiberg reported from Dallas.
___
Find AP’s full coverage of the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at: https://apnews.com/hub/ken-paxton
veryGood! (3)
Related
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Succession Actress Crystal Finn Details Attack by Otters
- Pentagon considering plea deals for defendants in 9/11 attacks
- 'As false as false can be': Trader Joe's executives say no to self-checkout in stores
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- The Perfect Fall Sweater Is Only $32 and You’ll Want 1 in Every Color
- Michael Oher, Tuohy family at odds over legal petition, 'Blind Side' money: What we know
- Top 10 deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Maui emergency chief resigns following criticism of wildfire response
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- The Blind Side: Michael Oher’s Former Football Coach Says He Knows What He Witnessed With Tuohys
- Abuse, conspiracy charges ensnare 9 Northern California cops in massive FBI probe
- WeWork’s future: What to know after the company sounds the alarm on its ability to stay in business
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Court tosses Jan. 6 sentence in ruling that could impact other low-level Capitol riot cases
- Former soldier sentenced to life in prison for killing Alabama police officer
- Thousands flee raging wildfire, turning capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories into ghost town
Recommendation
The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
Human trafficking: A network of crime hidden across a vast American landscape
Q&A: A Legal Scholar Calls the Ruling in the Montana Youth Climate Lawsuit ‘Huge’
Dr. Nathaniel Horn, the husband of US Rep. Robin Kelly, has died at 68
Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
Taekwondo athletes appear to be North Korea’s first delegation to travel since border closed in 2020
Wendy's breakfast menu gets another addition: New English muffin sandwiches debut this month
Patrick and Brittany Mahomes’ 8-Month-Old Son Bronze Rushed to Hospital After Allergic Reaction