Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has long denied corruption accusations that have dogged him for years. But as his impeachment trial gets underway, another defense is emerging: that fellow Republicans plotted to oust him.
His attorneys have so far presented no evidence in the trial, which continued Thursday, that Paxton was the victim of an attempt to replace him. But as former aides give testimony about how Paxton pressured them to help a political donor who was under FBI investigation, Paxton’s attorneys have raised questions about lobbyists and a meeting at Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, and have brought up George P. Bush, who lost to Paxton in last year’s Republican primary.
The waving at a broad conspiracy is an extension of how Paxton has spent months denouncing his impeachment by the Republican-controlled House in May as a politically driven attack by Democrats and rivals within his own party.
He has not been in the Texas Senate for any of the testimony. He is not required to attend all of the proceedings and cannot be compelled to testify. Bush, who had been the only member of the Bush dynasty still in elected office before losing to Paxton, filed to renew his law license the day after Mateer and other aides reported their boss to the FBI. Buzbee provided no evidence that Bush had communicated with any of Paxton’s accusers, and Mateer said he’s never spoken to Bush.
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