Republican Ken Paxton, who was suspended as Texas attorney general in May following his impeachment trial by the GOP-controlled state House, does not plan to testify in his Senate trial, his lawyer says.
His lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, said in a statement that Paxton was “impeached by the kangaroo court in the Texas House of Representatives” and that Paxton “will not dignify the House’s illegal action by testifying.”
“The House has ignored precedent, denied him the opportunity to prepare his defense, and now wants to ambush him on the floor of the Senate,” Buzbee said Monday in the statement. “They were given the opportunity to have Attorney General Paxton testify during his phony investigation, but they refused to do so. We will not bow to their unprecedented, illegal and evil weaponization of state power in the Senate chamber.”
Buzbee called the articles of indictment against Paxton “meritless and absurd.”
“This is about silencing the Conservatives, removing an effective political opponent and annulling an election,” he said.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, state Rep. Andrew Murr, who chairs the House committee that investigated Paxton, and state Senate Majority Leader Paul Bettencourt, all Republicans, did not respond immediately to requests for comment from NBC News.
The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives charged Paxton with breaking the law, abusing office, accepting bribes and obstructing justice. Sixty of the House’s 85 Republicans, including Phelan, voted to impeach Paxton.
Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years over allegations that he used his office to help a donor and was separately indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, though he has yet to stand trial.
The impeachment trial is scheduled to begin on September 5. Each side will be allotted 24 hours to present evidence, with opening statements and closing arguments each having 60 minutes.
If two-thirds of the state Senate votes to convict Paxton on just one of the charges, he will be permanently removed.
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, a Republican, appointed former Secretary of State John Scott to serve temporarily as attorney general in late May following Paxton’s ouster.
