Dan Patrick responds to Sarah Eckhardt's criticism on handling of Paxton impeachment trial

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is swinging back against criticism from Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, about his performance in Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial, saying he did his best and that based on her remarks Eckhardt was not paying attention to the proceedings.

“Whether she likes it or not, the rules and historical precedent say the Lt. Gov. is the presiding officer of the trial," Patrick said in a statement Friday. "I did my very best. I am proud of the entire Senate and how the trial was conducted. I believe we set a model for future Senate trials."

He continued, “Sen. Eckhardt, in the future, allow me to recommend that before you launch an attack, check the facts first before you speak.”

In response, Eckhardt said Friday: "I stand by my Journal statement. I have nothing to add."

More: Sen. Sarah Eckhardt slams Lt. Gov. Patrick's performance in Ken Paxton impeachment trial

Earlier this week, Eckhardt submitted a letter to the Senate Journal that she said is intended to serve as a guide for future impeachment tribunals. Presenting a scathing evaluation of Patrick's performance as judge, Eckhardt, a former criminal prosecutor, said his rulings on motions and objections were "inconsistent and often legally indefensible." She added that in future impeachments the presiding officer should be a proven judge, unlike Patrick, who is not a lawyer.

Eckhardt, like many other Democratic and Republican observers, also questioned Patrick's neutrality after the lieutenant governor, from the bench, hammered the Texas House for advancing a case he said was rushed and had unfairly denied Paxton a chance to defend himself before a May vote on his impeachment.

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With senators voting largely along party lines, Paxton, a three-term Republican, was acquitted on all 16 counts alleging bribery and misuse of office. Had he been convicted on even one charge, he would have been removed from office.

Patrick, in his Friday statement, did not address his post-trial remarks, which included a call for an audit on all public money spent on the impeachment, but instead focused on two areas of Eckhardt's letter he said are factually wrong.

One of them involved Laura Olson, a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an affair, and whom Patrick did not require to testify at the trial. Responding to Eckhardt's criticism that the Senate should have had real-time information on that decision, Patrick revealed that he met privately with lawyers from the defense and the prosecution, who agreed that Olson would not testify and that Patrick would announce that she was "unavailable."

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Olson, had she been required to testify, was expected to invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

“I also announced on the Senate floor two times that both parties agreed to that language," Patrick said. "I guess Sen. Eckhardt did not hear me either time. I did not craft that language, the House did."

Patrick also addressed Eckhardt's criticism that, at 24 hours, the House did not have ample time to present its case and that Patrick did not follow the Senate rules on time limits. Like the issue with Olson, Patrick said lawyers for both sides agreed that time spent by an opposing party on cross-examination would be counted only against the party conducting the cross-examination. Patrick also said the clock ran for routine objections from both sides and stopped for longer conferences.

“Sen. Eckhardt is flat out wrong on both of those attacks," Patrick said. "She should retract her inaccurate attack statements from the journal so that the historic record is accurate on those two points."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick responds to criticism on Ken Paxton trial