Tony Buzbee, the Houston attorney representing Ken Paxton in the suspended Texas attorney general’s (TXAG) upcoming impeachment trial, said on Monday his client won’t take the stand, asserting the state should’ve afforded him the opportunity “during their sham investigation,” The Associated Press (AP) reported.
“They had the opportunity to have Attorney General Paxton testify during their sham investigation but refused to do so,” Buzbee said, AP reported. “We will not bow to their evil, illegal and unprecedented weaponization of state power in the Senate chamber.”
The guilt or innocence of Paxton, a Republican, in connection with 20 articles of impeachment will be determined by the upper chamber of the Texas Legislature in late August, according to the not-for-profit news agency.
Per a report from Reuters, it’s likely Paxton and his defense team would counter any effort to get him to testify. Reuters reported that Buzbee said the Texas House of Representatives, which elected to impeach him on a 121-23 vote during the final days of the 88th legislative session, plans to “ambush him on the floor of the Senate.” A panel in the lower chamber recommended Paxton be brought up on charges of corruption and other irregularities arising from his office’s purported attempt to have lawmakers settle a $3.3 million lawsuit settlement in a whistleblower case against him, Reuters reported.
An article that was run by The Texas Tribune reported that several of the allegations have to do with his connections to Nate Paul, a campaign donor and a real estate investor based in the state capital. CBS News reported that Paul was charged in June with lying to mortgage lenders to secure loans totaling $172 million. The 36-year-old Paul faces eight counts and the possibility of a 30-year prison sentence and a $1 million fine if convicted, per CBS News.
While it’s the Senate’s responsibility to determine whether Paxton remains the state’s top law enforcement official, his wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney) was prevented by legislators to cast a vote in his trial, ABC News reported. Her presence during the proceedings, however, is still required, the national media outlet reported. The prosecution is led by Houston attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin, Austin Journal reported.