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 on Tuesday.
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 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 grand jury is also reportedly looking into Paxton’s ties to Paul, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
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The new filings represent 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 on Sept. 5. The managers began laying out their arguments now due to the volume of the evidence they must present, they wrote.
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