A former top aide to suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday testified on the agony of his decision to report his boss to federal authorities and resign from an agency whose mission was strongly in line with his conservative convictions.
“There was simply nothing more we could do,” said Ryan Bangert, as he described why three years ago he reported Paxton to the FBI for allegedly taking bribes and abusing his office to help his friend and campaign donor, Nate Paul.
TIMELINE: Allegations against AG Ken Paxton that led to his impeachment, including new details
“I believed, based on my experience over the previous nine months, that the attorney general had abandoned his obligation to work on behalf of the people of Texas to serve the interests of one person.”
Bangert’s testimony took up the bulk of the third day of Paxton’s impeachment trial in the state Senate, where the majority-Republican jury will soon decide whether to permanently remove Paxton from office.
Bangert described how he was asked to use office resources to help Paul three times within six months, taking away from more serious pursuits such as working on a major Google antitrust lawsuit and giving legal advice during the pandemic. He described his boss’ behavior at one point as “bizarre” and like a “man with a gun to his head.”
Paxton, who has not attended the trial since the first day, has denied all wrongdoing. His lawyers have characterized the impeachment efforts as politically motivated and...
Although on appeal the court distinguished that there was new information in the claim, the court ultimately found the new information was not material, nor was it plead with particularity. The U....