Ken Paxton won’t testify at his impeachment trial

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) will not testify at his own impeachment trial, his attorney announced Tuesday.

Paxton’s trial on more than 20 counts of misconduct, including accusations of bribery and abuse of power, could see him permanently removed from office. The trial is set to begin in the Texas Senate Sept. 5.

“They had the opportunity to have Attorney General Paxton testify during their sham investigation but refused to do so,” attorney Tony Buzbee said in a statement. 

“We will not bow to their evil, illegal, and unprecedented weaponization of state power in the Senate chamber.”

Paxton is suspended from office pending the outcome of the impeachment trial. The trial, and a separate FBI investigation, center on Paxton’s interactions with friend and political donor Nate Paul.

Multiple senior Paxton aides reported their boss to federal authorities over allegations that he used his office to help Paul, an Austin real estate investor who was being investigated for fraud. 

Paul allegedly helped pay for a renovation at Paxton’s home and hired a woman at his company with whom Paxton was having an affair, in order to keep the pair closer together, impeachment documents state.

Paul was arrested by the FBI last month.

Paxton has also been accused of misleading investors in a Texas software business. That allegation is under a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.

Impeachment investigations began after Paxton requested $3.3 million to pay whistleblowers from his office.

Paxton was impeached in the Texas House in a lopsided 121-23 vote in May. He is the third sitting official in Texas history to be impeached.

Buzbee, Paxton’s attorney, has made a name for himself bringing claims against multiple celebrity defendants in Texas in recent years. He represented more than 20 women who accused then-Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct in 2021. He also represented a class action against rapper Travis Scott after multiple people were killed in a crushing incident at his festival in Houston in 2021.