{"id":2026309,"date":"2023-09-08T19:22:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T23:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-arguments-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeachment-falling-apart-witnesses-took-no-evidence-to-fbi\/"},"modified":"2023-09-08T19:25:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T23:25:07","slug":"analysis-arguments-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeachment-falling-apart-witnesses-took-no-evidence-to-fbi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-arguments-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeachment-falling-apart-witnesses-took-no-evidence-to-fbi\/","title":{"rendered":"Arguments against Texas AG Ken Paxton&#8217;s impeachment are crumbling as witnesses failed to provide any evidence to the FBI."},"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\">38<\/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%2Fanalysis-arguments-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeachment-falling-apart-witnesses-took-no-evidence-to-fbi%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=2026309&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>The allegations against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are\u200b falling apart as the\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-arguments-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeachment-falling-apart-witnesses-took-no-evidence-to-fbi\/\" title=\"Arguments against Texas AG Ken Paxton's impeachment are crumbling as witnesses failed to provide any evidence to the FBI.\">historic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/schumer-calls-for-trump-to-be-immediately-removed-from-office-by-impeachment-or-25th-amendment\/\" title=\"Schumer Calls for Trump to be \u201cImmediately Removed From Office\u201d by Impeachment or 25th Amendment\">impeachment trial<\/a> wraps<\/a> up its first week of testimony.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, former \u200dOffice of the Attorney \u2063General \u200b(OAG)\u200d employee Ryan \u200cVassar returned to the witness stand for a \u200dsecond day of\u200d cross-examination by defense attorney\u200d Mitch Little in\u200d the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Austin, \u200dTexas. \u200bThree other former employees, including David Maxwell, Ryan Bangert, and Jeff Mateer, have also testified \u200bthis week.<\/p>\n<p>Lt. Gov.\u2062 Dan Patrick commended the \u200clawyers on both sides \u200cfor cooperating with the rules of\u2063 the Senate\u2062 trial. As president of the Senate, \u200bMr. Patrick is presiding \u2063over the trial with \u2063the assistance of\u2063 former Texas Fifth \u2064Court\u2062 of\u2062 Appeals Judge Lana Myers.<\/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 \u200cStories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/in-depth-conservative-supporters-react-to-ag-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial-5487157\">IN-DEPTH:\u2063 Conservatives React to AG Ken \u2064Paxton&#8217;s Impeachment\u200d Trial<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/7\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/in-depth-conservative-supporters-react-to-ag-ken-paxtons-impeachment-trial-5487157\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/republicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-5486408\">Republicans\u200d Reject\u2064 Motions to Dismiss Impeachment Articles\u2062 Against Texas AG Ken Paxton<\/a><\/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]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/republicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-5486408\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mr.\u200b Paxton, who pleaded not guilty to 16 articles \u2063of impeachment, \u2062was present for the trial on \u200bSept. 5, but he has remained absent since. The remaining four of the\u200b 20 articles of \u200bimpeachment were held in abeyance.<\/p>\n<p>His wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, is required to\u2064 sit through the trial; however, she is barred from voting per \u200cthe\u2063 Senate trial rules.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u2063 The trial began Sept.\u200c 5 and is expected to run through next week.<br \/>\n \u2063 \u200c<\/p>\n<h3>Impeachment Background<\/h3>\n<p>In\u2064 late May, Mr. Paxton was impeached \u200dby the House in a vote \u200bof 121-23 on accusations of abuse\u200c of \u2062powers and bribery following a quiet investigation led by a \u200dHouse committee.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The investigation came after Mr. Paxton settled a case with several \u200cformer employees who\u2064 had gone to the FBI\u2063 in late September 2020 with allegations that\u2062 their boss had used his office\u200b to\u200b assist Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was entangled in lawsuits. Mr. \u200bPaul \u200dhad donated $25,000 to\u200b Mr. Paxton\u2019s campaign \u200bin 2018.<\/p>\n<p>A\u2064 group of former top \u200cdeputies alleged that \u200cMr. Paul had renovated Mr. and Mrs. Paxton\u2019s\u2063 at no cost and helped the attorney \u2064general cover up an extramarital\u2064 affair in exchange\u2062 for \u200dlegal help \u200bfrom the\u200b OAG office. All of the employees either \u2062resigned or were fired after \u200dmaking\u2062 their accusations to the FBI.<\/p>\n<p>In November\u200b 2020, \u2063four of the employees, Jeff Mateer, Blake Brickman, Ryan Vassar, \u200cand David \u2064Maxwell, filed a \u2064so-called\u200b \u201cwhistleblower\u201d lawsuit against\u2062 Mr. Paxton,\u200c arguing that they had been fired in retaliation for\u2064 reporting the alleged crimes.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI investigation led to\u200b no \u2063charges \u200dagainst Mr. Paxton.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u2062 \u200b  &#8220;If you\u200b think <strong>[KenPaxtoncommittedacrimeafter\u200bthe\u200bBidenDOJandthedeepstateFBIhavedonenothingafteryearsyouaren&#8217;t\u200dusingyourcriticalthinkingskillsTheyhavefriedhimand\u2063taken\u2064himoutifthey\u200cthoughttheyhadanyevidenceatallTothinkotherwiseisinsane[KenPaxtoncommittedacrimeaftertheBidenDOJandthedeepstateFBIhavedonenothingafteryearsyouaren&#8217;tusingyourcriticalthinkingskillsTheyhavefriedhimandtakenhimoutiftheythoughttheyhadanyevidenceatallTothinkotherwiseisinsane<\/strong>&#8221; Jonathan Stickland, former Texas Rep. and president of \u2064Defend Texas\u2062 Liberty PAC, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepStickland\/status\/1699996062553964786\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> on X \u2063late\u2064 Thursday evening.\n  <\/div>\n<p>In February, the case \u2063was settled \u200cfor $3.3 million in February.<\/p>\n<p>Later the same month, Mr. Paxton asked\u200c the House Appropriations Committee to pay the settlement. House Speaker Dade Phelan opposed \u2062the idea, saying it would be\u2064 an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds.<\/p>\n<p>In March, the\u2064 House \u200ccommittee quietly launched \u200can \u2062investigation over the \u200ballegations made by the former employees.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    The House revealed \u200dthe investigation on May 23. Four days \u200dlater, the GOP-led House impeached Mr. Paxton.<br \/>\n \u200c<\/p>\n<h3>&#8216;Staging \u200ba Coup&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>The first days of testimony have mostly focused on \u2062Mr. \u200bPaxton&#8217;s\u2064 alleged conduct regarding Mr. \u2064Paul&#8217;s legal troubles.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Mr. Paul\u200b was facing multiple foreclosures \u200bon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-da-now-looking-into-loans-given-for-trump-properties-over-the-years\/\" title=\"New York DA Now Looking Into Loans Given For Trump Properties Over The Years\">multiple properties<\/a>.\u200d Mr. Paul&#8217;s troubles reportedly started at least a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/broward-county-school-board-member-admits-she-was-intimidated-into-covering-up-safety-failures-that-contributed-to-marjory-stoneman-douglas-massacre\/\" title=\"Broward County School Board Member Admits She Was \u2018Intimidated\u2019 Into Covering Up Safety Failures That Contributed To Marjory Stoneman Douglas Massacre\">year earlier<\/a>, resulting in an FBI raid of his home and business, World \u200cClass Holdings, in\u200d August 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Paul allegedly complained to Mr. Paxton that \u2062the \u2063raid was a violation of \u200dhis \u200crights. \u200cWitnesses testified \u2063that Mr. Paul asked his &#8220;friend&#8221; to use \u2064his power to \u200bprobe\u200b the FBI&#8217;s raid of his property. In June, Mr. Paul was indicted on eight \u2064felony counts of\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sidney-powell-is-an-american-legal-giant\/\" title=\"Sidney Powell Is an American Legal Giant\">making false statements<\/a> to lenders between March\u200b 2017\u200d and April 2018.\u200c Mr.\u2063 Paxton \u200dis not mentioned in the indictments.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Mateer,\u200d the House \u2063impeachment managers&#8217; \u2062first witness, told the state senators he had been concerned about his boss&#8217;s behaviors\u200c for\u2064 months before he and the other senior advisers went to the FBI.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Witness Jeff Mateer reviews a \u2064document\u200c during the impeachment trial for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton \u2064in\u2064 the Senate Chamber at\u200b the\u200b Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas,\u200b on Sept. 6, 2023. (Eric Gay\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>He said it finally made \u200bsense to him \u2064when\u200d he discovered that Mr. Paxton had hired an outside lawyer to conduct an\u2063 investigation on Mr. Paul&#8217;s behalf. He said he also learned that Mr. \u2063Paul had employed the woman \u2064with whom Mr. Paxton\u200d had an\u2064 extramarital \u2064affair.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2062 concluded\u200b that Mr. Paxton was engaged in conduct that was immoral, unethical, and I had the good faith \u200cbelief that it was illegal,&#8221; \u2062Mr.\u2063 Mateer testified earlier this\u200c week.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Mateer \u200dand his\u200d colleagues testified that they had no choice but to report\u2064 their boss to \u2062the FBI when they refused their advice \u2063for him to cut ties with Mr. Paul.<\/p>\n<p>He also claimed Mr. Paxton hired \u2062an outside lawyer to conduct an investigation\u2062 on Mr. Paul&#8217;s behalf regarding the Mitte Foundation, a family trust \u200dthat invested in World Class.<\/p>\n<p>During cross-examination, defense lawyer Tony Buzbee pointed out that the OAG had agreed \u2062not\u2062 to intervene\u200d unless another inquiry was made to the OAG involving\u2064 Mitte, which\u2063 it received.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Mateer said he was\u2063 unaware of the second inquiry\u2062 that led to the \u200clegal hiring of a young Houston lawyer, \u2063Brandon Cammack, who began subpoenaing\u200b banks.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Buzbee questioned Mr.\u200d M<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton&#8217;s allegations crumble as the impeachment trial concludes its first week of testimony. Ryan Vassar, a former OAG employee, faced cross-examination by defense attorney Mitch Little in the Senate chamber for the second day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1556,"featured_media":2026310,"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-2026309","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\/2026309","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=2026309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2026310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2026309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2026309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2026309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}