Texas AG Ken Paxton allegedly bribed by indicted developer with fake Uber account to facilitate affair
Ken Paxton gave Nate Paul “unfettered access” to the Texas attorney general’s office that the developer “harnessed to harass his enemies,” according to new details in a series of documents filed by House impeachment managers this week.
Paxton repeatedly abused his power to help Paul fight a federal investigation into his businesses and then masked his behavior by using burner phones and a secret personal email address, according to the managers, who will argue in a trial next month that Paxton should be removed from office.
The managers on Tuesday provided new evidence they said shows Paul bribed Paxton by remodeling his home and facilitated Paxton’s alleged extramarital affair by creating a fake Uber account he could use to visit the woman at her Austin condo.
All of this occurred as the attorney general’s top staff repeatedly urged him to cut ties with Paul, who they perceived as a “con man” attempting to use Paxton and the agency for his own personal benefit, the managers wrote.
In June, Paul was indicted for federal financial crimes. He denies all wrongdoing. A federal grand jury is reportedly looking into Paxton’s ties to Paul, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The new filings are the clearest picture yet of the case the House managers plan to present in Paxton’s upcoming impeachment trial in the Texas Senate, which is set to start Sept. 5. The managers began laying out their arguments now due to the volume of the evidence they must present, they wrote.
The evidence details “the extensive steps Paxton used to morph the Office of the Attorney General into Paul’s concierge law firm and, along the way, cover up his abuse of the office,” the lawyers wrote.
The House managers rejected Paxton’s attempts to avoid testifying, to disqualify three Democrat senators as jurors and to dismiss the impeachment outright. A special Senate committee will craft a report on these various pretrial motions a week before the trial is scheduled to start.
Paxton did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Last week, Paxton’s lawyers submitted their own arguments against the corruption allegations their client faces. The legal team argued that the 20 articles of impeachment — which range from bribery to conspiracy to unfitness for office — should be dismissed because they are too vague, misinterpret state law and, even if true, aren’t impeachable offenses.
Paxton is the first statewide elected official in Texas to face an impeachment trial since 1917.
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