The fourth day of the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton continues in Austin on Thursday.
As Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial neared the halfway point Friday, a former state lawman said he warned the Republican in 2020 that he was risking indictment by helping a donor under FBI investigation.
Maxwell is a former Texas Ranger, the state's elite law enforcement division. As he began his testimony, an attorney for Republican impeachment managers sought to underline his credentials and reputation in front of a jury of Republican senators who will decide whether Paxton should be removed from office.
A group of Paxton's deputies reported him to the FBI in 2020, prompting a federal investigation of the two men’s dealings that remains ongoing. Both have broadly denied wrongdoing. Paxton has not been charged, and the federal charges against Paul relate to making false statements to get loans. Cogdell to Maxwell: Why is it every time I ask you if you've taught folks to testify you suddenly can't hear the question?Cogdell to Maxwell: And is that one of the things you've learned by experience, Ranger, to pause and act like you haven't heard the question?Maxwell to Cogdell: I've learned that it throws you off.
3:40 p.m., Cogdell asks Maxwell what crime he was asked to commit by being given a PowerPoint presentation. Maxwell replied and said they obviously did not say they wanted a crime to be committed, what they wanted was an investigation. Cogdell questioned if it was illegal for a private citizen to ask for an investigation into whether search warrants were created illegally and he said the investigation was illegal.
2:59 p.m., Maxwell said the majority of the time he would oversee investigations and sometimes get involved. A referral like the Nate Paul case, would typically have been assigned to a major overseeing special investigations who would then assign it to a team. Maxwell kept the case for himself. 2:50 p.m., Cogdell verifies a search warrant could end up in the hands of a defendant and that identifying information that may put witnesses at risk is generally left out of those documents.2:26 p.m., Patrick calls for a recess to allow Maxwell time to review a document.
2:02 p.m., Maxwell said he was a victim of retaliation. He was 71 when he was fired and was a top-level law enforcement officer. By berating him in the media, Maxwell said Paxton ended his career. 1:54 p.m., Maxwell said he was not aware of the hiring of Brandon Cammack when it happened and that he found out about it later.
1:50 p.m., Speaking of Ken Paxton,"I know his state of mind because in the meeting he threatened to fire me. So I knew then what his commitment was to Nate Paul and he was not going to be deterred from continuing to try and do things that benefit Nate Paul," Maxwell said. 1:42 p.m., Maxwell said Ken Paxton wanted to have a third meeting to tell Nate Paul they would not be doing an investigation based on their forensic analysis. That meeting was not recorded and he said Paxton specifically told them he did not want that meeting recorded.1:39 p.m., Maxwell said they weren't going to do the investigation requested by Nate Paul because it had no merit. Maxwell admitted he still submitted Paul's documents to his experts within the OAG.
1:24 p.m., Maxwell said during the meeting Nate Paul laid out his conspiracy theory about what happened the day the search warrants were executed. He complained about the procedures the FBI took to secure the scene and conduct the searches. He said Paul said they came to search for drugs and guns, not records, and that in the middle of the search when they didn't find guns or drugs they edited the warrant to search for records.
1:13 p.m., Maxwell said he'd also hear from an employee of the Travis County District Attorney's Office about Nate Paul. He said he then began researching Nate Paul and learned he was being investigated by the FBI. 11:57 a.m."You are indeed, are you not, Mr. Vasser, a kind and gentle person? So much so, that even after enduring yelling and constant interruption, you still don't like to use the word 'lie,' do you?" Hardin asked Vasser. The defense objected, and Hardin said he had no further questions.
11:48 a.m. Hardin asked Vasser if he ever saw himself as an investigator in the matter involving Paxton. Vasser said did not, and that he saw himself as a witness. 11:44 a.m. Hardin asked if Vasser and the whistleblowers took any documents with them to the FBI interview."We took ourselves," Vasser said, meaning that they did not bring any documentary evidence.
11:36 a.m. Hardin asked about the difference between opinions published in six months and those published overnight. He asked about the difference in how the opinions are vetted and how they are"published to the world." Vasser said the six-month opinions are more widely distributed and easily accessible to the public.
11:25 a.m. A letter issued under Section 418 of the Texas Government Code is shown to the court. The letter related to schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little asked if the Attorney General's office was working on such letters"constantly.""It was a perpetual thing," Vasser said. 11:18 a.m. The response to Nate Paul's DPS open records request was shown to the court."No one at the Attorney General's office tried to stop it from going out, did they?" Little asked about the unredacted brief. Vasser said no one stopped it. Vasser said they had reason to believe that there was information contained in the brief about Ken Paxton and Nate Paul.
11:02 a.m. Vasser said he did not make the decision to hire Cammack. He said he made a recommendation and provided the legal justification for hiring Cammack. 10:53 a.m. Vasser was asked about the number of civil cases that were going on in the Attorney General's office at a given time. He estimated 20,000. Little asked how many of those cases involved Nate Paul. Vasser said he did not know.
10:41 a.m. Little read a text from Vasser that included a potential statement that he wanted to make about the whistleblowers and their resignations. He asked Vasser if it was true that no one else on the thread agreed with him. Vasser said that the statement was never made but that he did not think that anyone in the thread disagreed.
10:34 a.m. Little asked Vasser if he was aware of a meeting with some of the whistleblowers and Gov. Greg Abbott's Chief of Staff on the day the whistleblowers went to the FBI. Vasser said he did not recall that meeting. 10:27 a.m. Little asked about a text Vasser sent that said"We should consider notifying other deputies before Monday." He asked if Vasser was talking about resigning. Vasser said the message was about going to the FBI and notifying others that they had gone to law enforcement before resigning.
10:19 a.m. Vasser is asked about a meme he sent in the group text that said"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Little asked if Vasser had an enemy at the time. Vasser said"I did not have an enemy. It was a meme." Little asked if Webster was Vasser's enemy. Vasser said he meant that Webster was investigating the wrong person.
9:26 a.m. Vasser:"We had all been through a lot at that point and I suppose people process things in different ways." Little:"Gallows humor, if you will?" Vasser:"Yes." 9:17 a.m. Questioning continued about a group text Vasser was in during October 2020. Little asked Vasser what he meant when he sent"#solesurvivor" in the group text. Vasser said he could have meant that he was the last remaining whistleblower in the office.
9:10 a.m. Little asked if the period after leaving the Attorney General's office was a"somber" time for Vasser. Vasser said it was.
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