Former attorney general officials testified that Ken Paxton pushed to release confidential FBI records to friend and donor Nate Paul. They also denied defense attorneys’ assertions that they staged a “mutiny.”
Zach Despart
Zach Despart is an enterprise and investigative reporter focusing on state government. His work on a team investigating the flawed police response to the Uvalde school shooting was awarded the 2024 Collier Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting. He led the Tribune’s effort to become the first news organization to map the fragmented 50-mile Texas border wall, a project that also found the state struggled with holdout landowners along the route. After it was published, the Legislature stopped funding the wall. He previously covered Harris County for the Houston Chronicle, where he reported on corruption, elections, disaster preparedness and the region’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey. His investigation on how Texas diverted Harvey aid away from areas most at risk for storms sparked a federal investigation. An upstate New York native, he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and film from the University of Vermont.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Ken Paxton’s top deputy, the first impeachment witness, describes an attorney general out of control
Jeff Mateer testified that Paxton was so intent on helping Austin real estate investor Nate Paul that he worried the attorney general was being blackmailed.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Paxton trial, Sept. 5: Suspended AG pleads not guilty to all impeachment articles, leaves before afternoon proceedings
On the first day of the impeachment trial, senators rejected defense attorneys’ attempts to dismiss all 16 articles of impeachment. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also ruled that Ken Paxton couldn’t be forced to testify.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Texas Senate rejects all motions to dismiss Ken Paxton impeachment charges
The pretrial motions required a majority vote. All but one were rejected by two-thirds of the Senate, suggesting an openness in the chamber to hear the allegations against Paxton.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Ken Paxton tried to hide his affair from his wife and voters. It may be his undoing.
The impeachment trial that starts Tuesday is expected to center on Paxton’s infidelity, and could air out the sordid details of the staunch, Christian conservative’s life as he sits just yards away from his wife, and her 30 Senate colleagues.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Few Texas Republican voters support Ken Paxton impeachment
Only 28% of Republican respondents agreed that the charges against Texas’ attorney general were warranted, compared to 42% of independents and three-quarters of Democrats, the poll found.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
“Operation Deep Sea”: How Nate Paul pulled the strings in the attorney general’s office to investigate his enemies
Paul personally chose targets and drafted language for subpoenas issued by Brandon Cammack, an outside lawyer hired by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton hired Cammack to investigate his friend’s complaints after his own deputies advised him against it.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Ken Paxton’s team said there was no evidence to support impeachment. The House published nearly 4,000 pages.
The Senate, which is conducting the trial, published the exhibits Thursday night. House impeachment managers say Paxton abused his office to help friend and political donor Nate Paul.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Ken Paxton’s former personal assistant and “second son” a star witness in impeachment probe
Drew Wicker testified that he ferried documents to Nate Paul on behalf of his boss and witnessed conversations that suggested Paul was paying for the attorney general’s home renovations.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
New accusations: Ken Paxton used burner phone, secret email account, fake Uber name to hide ties to Nate Paul
After Paxton’s lawyers sought to dismiss articles of impeachment as unsubstantiated, House managers responded by accusing the suspended attorney general of going to great lengths to cover up his relationship to the real estate investor.
