AUSTIN, Texas — Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton received "bizarre" help from Austin investor Nate Paul to hide his affair with a former Capitol staffer while helping Paul during an FBI investigation into alleged fraud, new filings in Paxton's impeachment trial allege.
According to the documents, Paxton and Paul both used an Uber account under the name "Dave P" that Paxton relied on to travel a block from his Tarrytown home to a southwest Austin apartment where the woman lived. Paul created the account, the filings say.
Paxton used the Uber account dozens of times to meet the woman in 2020 – among the "perks" the filings say Paxton received for helping Paul as the FBI targeted him.
The filings also more specifically describe other assistance Paxton received, some of which has been previously reported, including a home remodel Texas House lawyers say was paid for by Paul. They also detail the extent Paxton took to appoint a special prosecutor he deputized to uncover information about the FBI investigation into Paul.
Paxton "morphed the Office of the Attorney General into Paul's concierge law firm," the filing says.
The documents say many of the new details were newly discovered as part of the House investigation into Paxton. What the public knew – and when it knew it – is a central issue.
On Wednesday evening, Paxton's lawyer released a statement in response to the new allegations made in impeachment filings, saying House managers have not shown evidence of a bribe.
Attorney Tony Buzbee said in part, "It is imperative for the Senate to understand: If there is no bribe, there was no whistle to blow."
He also said, "This whole thing has been nothing but a sham, and it should now end."
Paxton is seeking to have many of the 20 articles of impeachment against him dismissed, saying that they fall under the state's "forgiveness doctrine," meaning that voters were aware of the allegations when they reelected Paxton to a third term in 2022.
But the responses from House lawyers say that many of the new details they uncovered merit a full airing during a Sept. 5 impeachment trial for Paxton.
"Paxton’s denials, half truths and downright lies enabled him to conceal the truth from the public," the filings say. "Now is the time for trial to proceed."
Paul has since been indicted on multiple federal fraud charges and has been released from federal custody on bond.