{"id":2025287,"date":"2023-09-07T22:32:03","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T02:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-conservatives-react-to-ag-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial\/"},"modified":"2023-09-07T22:35:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T02:35:13","slug":"in-depth-conservatives-react-to-ag-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-conservatives-react-to-ag-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"IN-DEPTH: Conservatives React to AG Ken Paxton\u2019s Impeachment Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-depth-conservatives-react-to-ag-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2025287&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>Dozens of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton&#8217;s supporters showed up\u200c to witness the beginning of the Senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, \u200cearlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>It has been more than \u2063100 years \u200bsince a sitting official was impeached \u200bin \u2064the state of Texas, and some of Mr. Paxton&#8217;s supporters believe that the accusations are reminiscent of the actions taken against former President Donald Trump over the past several years.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think they&#8217;re convicting [Paxton] of their own crimes,&#8221;\u200c Melissa Fryzel of Seguin, Texas, told The Epoch Times\u2064 during an interview at the Capitol \u2064on\u2062 Sept. 5. &#8220;I mean, that&#8217;s what we see all\u200c over and what we see at the national level. Just like with Trump, they accuse him of the\u200b things that\u2064 they&#8217;re doing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/republicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-5486408\">Republicans Reject Motions to Dismiss Impeachment Articles Against Texas AG Ken\u200c Paxton<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/5\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/republicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-5486408\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/epochtv\/texas-ag-ken-paxton-pleads-not-guilty-at-impeachment-trial-5486821\">Texas AG Ken Paxton Pleads Not Guilty at Impeachment Trial<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/5\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/epochtv\/texas-ag-ken-paxton-pleads-not-guilty-at-impeachment-trial-5486821\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ms. Fryzel said she has been a Republican political activist since 2018 and has been attending each day of the trial.<\/p>\n<p>House impeachment\u2062 managers have accused the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-ag-barr-authorizes-federal-prosecutors-to-pursue-substantial-allegations-of-voting-irregularities-before-2020-election-is-certified\/\" title=\"BREAKING: AG Barr Authorizes Federal Prosecutors to Pursue \"Substantial Allegations\" of Voting Irregularities Before 2020 Election is Certified\">attorney general<\/a> of misusing his office to help campaign\u2064 donor and Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, whose Austin home and business, World Class Holdings, \u2063were raided by the FBI in August 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca Broughton,\u200b who attended\u200b the\u2063 trial on Sept.\u200c 5, told The Epoch\u2064 Times that the whole matter has\u200d been \u200b&#8221;rush, rush, rush&#8221; to &#8220;get Ken Paxton out of \u200chere.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;He was doing so good for the conservative values,&#8221; she said, noting that he was \u2063pushing back against the Biden administration to secure the border and to protect Texans and everyone\u200c in the country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u2063   A jury\u2062 of 30 of the \u200b31 senators will\u2063 determine whether the attorney general will be removed from office. Mr. Paxton&#8217;s wife, state Sen. Angela\u200b Paxton, is barred from voting.\u2063 A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/in-depth-heres-what-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-texas-ag-ken-paxtons-historic-impeachment-trial-5483480\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two-thirds threshold<\/a> of 21 votes per article\u200b is needed to convict the state&#8217;s top lawyer.<br \/>\n  \u2062\n  <\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I really think [the impeachment trial] is sad for Texas,&#8221; Ms. Broughton said. &#8220;It&#8217;s really sad\u2063 for Texas because all these people are\u2063 doing is saying\u2063 your vote does not count.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Members of the public line up outside the Texas State Senate Gallery, waiting to enter for the start of the impeachment trial of Texas \u200dAttorney General Ken Paxton in Austin, \u200dTexas, on Sept. 5, 2023. (LM Otero\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    Mr. Paxton\u2062 is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-conservatives-react-to-ag-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial\/\" title=\"Conservatives' Response to AG Ken Paxton's Impeachment Trial\">51st attorney general<\/a> of Texas \u200dand first took office in January \u20632015. He was reelected to a third term in \u2062November 2022 after defeating George P. Bush in the primary.<\/p>\n<h2>Pretrial Motions Rejected<\/h2>\n<p>    On Sept. 5, \u2064the senators rejected \u2062all of Mr. Paxton&#8217;s pretrial motions to dismiss \u2062the impeachment articles.<br \/>\n  \u200b\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<p>Brian L. Owsley, associate professor of law at the University \u200dof North Texas at Dallas, told The Epoch Times that he believes that dismissing the articles would have been unfavorable considering the trial&#8217;s attention.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;On some level, the time to short-circuit the impeachment would have been prior to convening the trial,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It is not a good\u2063 look after the attention this impeachment trial\u200d had to forgo having the trial.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Owsley noted that the trial is a &#8220;political process&#8221; that puts the \u200dRepublican senators in a difficult \u2062position.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The senators are supposed to listen and consider only the evidence, \u200dbut as political animals, they are cognizant of polls and their constituents&#8217; views,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Many of them do not like Paxton,\u200d but their constituents voted for him \u2062and\u2064 still support him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Paxton, who&#8217;s suspended from office, pleaded not guilty on Sept. 5 to all \u206420 articles of impeachment against him. He has been \u200babsent from the Senate chamber-turned-courtroom since the second\u2062 half of the first\u2062 day of the trial.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u200d  &#8220;I want to thank you all for your prayers and support. I will never back down from defending freedom,&#8221; he wrote on X later that day.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Isn&#8217;t It Ironic?&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>    The House impeachment managers accused Mr. Paxton of \u200bintervening in a 2020 lawsuit involving The Mitte Foundation, a charitable \u200borganization that provides \u2062scholarships to students in Texas, against his deputies&#8217; recommendations, according to the\u2064 first article of impeachment (<a href=\"https:\/\/senate.texas.gov\/_assets\/coi\/docs\/House-Managers-Response-to-MTD-Article-I-20230815.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).\n  <\/div>\n<p>The document states\u2063 that the foundation invested more \u2064than $3 million in Mr. Paul&#8217;s\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-conservative-supporters-react-to-ag-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial\/\" title=\"Conservative backers respond to AG Ken Paxton's impeachment trial.\">real estate development companies<\/a> in 2011 in order to &#8220;grow its money to provide more scholarships.&#8221; World Class met its obligations to provide\u200d quarterly and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ethics-watchdog-calls-for-probe-into-house-democrat-kim-schriers-stock-transactions\/\" title=\"Ethics Watchdog Calls for Probe into House Democrat Kim Schrier's Stock Transactions\">annual financial reports<\/a>\u2063 until the third quarter of \u200c2018. At that point, Mitte filed a lawsuit against World Class.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Paul allegedly agreed to buy \u2063out the foundation&#8217;s partnership in a $10 million settlement, which \u2062he ultimately failed to pay. Mitte took the company back to court, according to the impeachment article.<\/p>\n<p>The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) Charitable Trust Division was notified and conducted an investigation\u200c consistent with its duty to\u2063 protect charitable organizations. The\u200b OAG determined that it wouldn&#8217;t &#8220;intervene&#8221; but would reconsider if\u200b &#8220;additional parties or causes of action&#8221; were added.<\/p>\n<p>The House impeachment managers\u200d claimed that \u2062Mr. Paul, \u2064who had donated $25,000 to Mr. Paxton&#8217;s campaign in 2018, allegedly went \u2064to his &#8220;friend&#8221; for help with the situation, according to the House impeachment committee.<\/p>\n<p>But Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee pointed out that Mr. Paxton&#8217;s office got involved after \u200dan additional inquiry regarding Mitte was sent to the OAG.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Texas state Attorney General Ken \u2062Paxton (C) sits with his attorneys Dan Cogdell (R) and Tony Buzbee during his \u2064impeachment trial in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol\u200c in Austin on Sept. 5, 2023.\u2063 (Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In late September 2020, a group of\u2064 top \u2064deputies from Mr. Paxton&#8217;s agency, including first\u2063 assistant Jeff Mateer, told the FBI that Mr. Paxton had ignored their advice by \u200dgetting involved in the case. They\u200c also claimed that Mr. Paxton hired an outside lawyer to probe the FBI raid on Mr. Paul.<\/p>\n<p>In return for Mr. Paul\u2019s alleged assistance from the OAG, the former employees\u2014all of\u200d whom were later either \u2062fired or resigned\u2014claimed that Mr. \u200dPaul helped\u200b hide Mr. Paxton&#8217;s \u200bextramarital affair and even hired the woman with whom Mr. Paxton was allegedly involved to work for \u200chis company.<\/p>\n<p>They also said Mr. \u2062Paul paid \u200bfor renovations at the Paxtons&#8217; home in Austin.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Mateer testified that he believed that his boss&#8217;s actions were illegal, and that was why he\u200c and \u200cthe others from the OAG went to \u2063the FBI with their accusations. Mr. Mateer resigned the following day.<\/p>\n<p>However,\u200d during Mr. Buzbee&#8217;s cross-examination on Sept. 6, Mr. Mateer admitted that he and his colleagues \u200chad approved \u2064of\u2064 Mr. Paxton&#8217;s office getting involved in the\u200d Mitte case.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I approved the executive memorandum,&#8221; Mr. Mateer told Mr. Buzbee in response to whether he \u2063was involved in the Mitte intervention.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Isn&#8217;t it ironic that the first witness called in this case for the House on the first article of impeachment that was passed, that this witness\u2014you [Mr. Mateer]\u2014approved that intervention?&#8221; Mr. Buzbee replied.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Isn&#8217;t that ironic? Don&#8217;t you think that kind of reflects the whole House&#8217;s case?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The federal investigation into the allegations against Mr. Paxton didn&#8217;t result in any charges.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    Mr. Mateer, who describes himself as\u200d a Christian conservative lawyer, was once nominated \u2064by \u200bthen-President Donald Trump to a federal judgeship. But\u200b his nomination was later \u200dwithdrawn after U.S. senators learned that Mr. Mateer had made comments in 2015 that he believed that transgender children \u200cwere\u200c &#8220;Satan&#8217;s spawn&#8221;\u200d and supported a\u2064 judge&#8217;s right to support certain types \u2062of discrimination, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2017\/12\/13\/two-controversial-federal-judge-nominees-will-not-be-confirmed-senate-\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Texas Tribune<\/a> reported in 2017.\n  <\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">Mr. Paxton has been a sta<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dozens of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton&#8217;s supporters showed up to witness the beginning of the Senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, earlier this week.It has been more than 100 years since a sitting official was impeached in the state of Texas, and some of Mr. Paxton&#8217;s supporters believe that the accusations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1556,"featured_media":2025288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}