Ken Paxton lawyer: AG will 'never be convicted' in Senate impeachment trial

Lawyers for suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are forcefully trying to discredit a recent House impeachment vote and predicted that the Senate will acquit Paxton at a trial they say they want to postpone until after this summer.

High-profile Houston attorneys Tony Buzbee and Dan Cogdell, new to the case this week, came out swinging at a theatrical news conference Wednesday that was heavier on emotion than on specifics about how they plan to defend Paxton against the allegations and try to clear the way for him to return to office.

“Ken Paxton will never be convicted by the Senate,” Buzbee said.

Cogdell added, “He is absolutely 100% innocent of these accusations.”

Paxton, the state’s top law enforcement official, has been suspended from his duties since May 27 when the House voted to impeach him by a 121-23 vote. Many allegations against him center on his relationship with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, for whom investigators say Paxton abused his office by assisting in a variety of legal matters. Paxton also stands accused of retaliating against former employees in the attorney general’s office who say they were fired after alerting federal investigators about the Paxton-Paul connection.

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While only briefly touching on the 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton, the lawyers Wednesday blasted House investigators for refusing to interview the three-term attorney general and for scheduling an impeachment vote within three days of announcing their findings.

Buzbee and Cogdell described the investigation as “baloney,” “worthless and weak,” “shameful and despicable,” and a “sham.”

“Not even traffic court would accept this kind of foolishness,” Buzbee said.

The appearances of Buzbee and Cogdell in this case sets up a classic legal showdown against famed Houston lawyers Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin, who engaged in their own spectacle last week in announcing they are presenting the case against Paxton to the Senate. Hardin, speaking to reporters, said the allegations against the attorney general are “10 times worse” than the public realizes.

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DeGuerin and Hardin, legal titans who are both in their 80s, are being paid with public money. Buzbee wouldn’t say how he’s being paid, but he said it’s not with public funds.

The next key date in the case is June 20, when the Senate is scheduled to establish its rules for the trial and could decide if Paxton’s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, will recuse herself from serving in what amounts to a juror role.

Based on the Senate rules, Buzbee said he expects to request a delay in the case to work up a proper defense and depose 66 witnesses. As of now, the trial is to begin no later than Aug. 28.

“Maybe next August” in 2024, Buzbee said.

Buzbee and Cogdell addressed just two of the 20 impeachment articles. One of them says Paxton obstructed justice by repeatedly delaying proceedings in a 2015 state securities case for which he remains indicted. Cogdell, who is defending Paxton in that matter, blamed the prosecutors for the delays. Another impeachment article alleges that Paul impermissibly paid for a renovation to Paxton’s home. Cogdell presented a receipt that he says shows Paxton paid for the remodel.

Buzbee, a former Houston mayoral candidate, has been involved as a lawyer in many of the state’s biggest legal cases. He was part of the team that defended Gov. Rick Perry on abuse of office charges in 2014. More recently, he filed lawsuits on behalf of nearly two dozen massage therapists who they were sexually assaulted by former Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. That case put him in opposition to Hardin, who represented Watson and often sparred publicly with Buzbee through the media.

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Buzbee said he doesn’t want the case to devolve into a "battle of legacies” between the big-shot lawyers.

But, referencing DeGuerin and Hardin, he added, “I’m not going to let these legal legends off the hook.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas impeachment: Tony Buzbee, Dan Cogdell to defend Ken Paxton