Impeachment trial: Outside lawyer hired by AG Ken Paxton describes turbulent time

The outside lawyer who had thought he was hired by now-suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton as a special prosecutor testified Tuesday that he had difficulty getting straight answers from his then-boss about his role in investigating claims that Paxton's friend was the victim of a federal law enforcement conspiracy.

Brandon Cammack, who was a comparatively inexperienced attorney when Paxton tapped him in late August 2020 to examine allegations from real estate developer Nate Paul that federal agents had doctored a search warrant affidavit targeting his home and businesses, was called to the witness stand by the impeachment management team seeking to persuade the Texas Senate to remove the attorney general from office.

The 37-year-old Cammack said he "was fired up" to be summoned by the state attorney general for what he believed would be a prestigious, career-building assignment when he was only five years out of law school. Later in his testimony, Cammack said that he became frustrated and upset after a twisting series of events that ended with him being told that he would not be paid for the work he had done.

Cammack was the dominant witness on the sixth day of the impeachment trial and told the chamber he was hired personally by Paxton after the attorney general's own top lieutenants refused to comply with Paxton's wishes that they investigate allegations from campaign donor Nate Paul, who claimed he was being set up by federal authorities.

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"I did everything at his supervision and kept him informed of everything," Cammack testified. "I got affirmation the entire time."

But in his short association with the attorney general's office that began in late August 2020 and ended in late September, he would learn that Paxton often communicated with him via an encrypted nongovernment email address and a phone number that might be taken for a spam call.

Cammack, though hired as a contractor, said he repeatedly asked for government credentials and an official email account so that he could demonstrate he had the authority to seek and obtain information required to conduct his investigation.

"I never got a firm answer on when I'd get some of these things," he said.

Whistleblowers, fraud and Nate Paul: A timeline of Texas AG Ken Paxton's impeachment trial

Paxton, a three-term Republican, is accused of misusing his office and faces being permanently removed if 21 of the 30 voting members vote to convict him on one or more of the 16 counts against him. He has steadfastly insisted he has not committed an impeachable offense.

Impeachment team attorney Rusty Hardin used his questioning to allow Cammack to explain how Paul and his attorney, Michael Wynne, orchestrated much of the investigation that Cammack was hired to carry out, even offering memos on how documents associated with that investigation be worded and who should receive grand jury subpoenas.

Among those who were suggested were federal law enforcement agents and even Wynne's opposing lawyers involved with Paul's ongoing legal challenges. Cammack said he was not informed that the opposing lawyers were on the list and called such a move improper.

The involvement of Paul and Wynne came after members of Paxton's top staff advised the attorney general that there was no basis for the state's top lawyer to involve himself in what was at its heart a private legal matter involving a single Texas resident.

More: Ex-Paxton aide says Nate Paul's call for AG to investigate feds 'absolute craziness'

On Monday, former Deputy Attorney General Mark Penley testified that he was concerned that investigating federal authorities would undermine the state office's credibility and even harm Paxton politically. Cammack on Tuesday said his own conversation with Paxton during his job interview provided him a window into those concerns.

“He made a comment that you need to have some guts to work on a case like this, and I was fired up about the opportunity to do it," Cammack testified to Hardin.

But when describing the end of his time with Paxton, Cammack told a different story. The Paxton associates who pushed back against the Paul investigation brought their concerns to the FBI, and four of them, after being fired, filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the attorney general.

But before they left their jobs, they sent Cammack a letter telling him to "cease and desist" all work on behalf of the attorney general's office. Money to pay Cammack was never approved. Cammack said that when he presented Paxton an invoice for $14,000 for his services, he was told by another aide that he would "have to eat it."

While questioning Cammack on cross-examination, Paxton defense lawyer Dan Cogdell laid the groundwork for why Cammack was willing to question the search warrant of Paul's home and businesses. Cammack said it wasn't "improper to his world view" to question authorities capable of issuing a search warrant.

"Base people off of their character — that's it," Cammack said of why he kept an open mind as he conducted the investigation sought by Paxton.

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Cammack testified on cross-examination that he was glad to be tapped to take on the challenge in questioning the authorities in the situation, even calling his grandmother to tell her he had a job working with Paxton's office.

"I was still happy working for the attorney general," Cammack said.

Cammack thought the investigation into Paul's allegations was legitimate, even contacting the State Bar of Texas to make sure there were no issues or conflicts in handling the investigation.

"They told me congratulations on the job," Cammack testified.

"I never got any pushback from anyone at the attorney general's office or the Travis County district attorney until I received a cease and desist letter," he said.

American-Statesman staff writer Hogan Gore contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Ken Paxton impeachment trial: Outside lawyer describes turbulent time