HOUSTON — In his first in-depth interview since the Texas Senate acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick explained what happened behind the scenes of the impeachment trial, which reforms he wants to see in the state’s impeachment process and why Paxton's alleged mistress, Laura Olson, did not testify in the proceedings despite being called to the stand.
“We assumed at least one of the articles, they had a smoking gun -- at least one they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt,” Patrick told WFAA on Wednesday afternoon in Houston. “In 1917 [during the last impeachment trial of a statewide official], they sent boxes and boxes and boxes of evidence to the Senate for the trial. We got nothing basically. Zero.”
Still, and even despite the acquittal, Patrick balked some when asked whether anything he heard during the two-week trial suggested that Paxton’s behavior crossed a line.
"That’s a great question," he said. "That would be unfair for anyone to really answer. Obviously, there were things that came up in the trial that I think most people, including myself, would look at and say it wasn’t very smart. We’ll just leave it at that.”
Patrick also slammed the case brought by the House of Representatives as rushed and weak.
In his closing remarks after the verdict, Patrick directly chastised the leadership in the Republican-led House, leading some to wonder whether his prepared statement meant that he knew the outcome of the trial before senators voted.
"I wrote remarks [for] if he was acquitted and if he was convicted," Patrick said. "The remarks were pretty much the same [both ways]. Just the open would have a been a little bit different. But whether he was acquitted or convicted, the House process should never have happened."
The Republican-led House of Representatives impeached Paxton just before the end of the legislative session in May. The House drafted and approved 20 articles of impeachment, which alleged a pattern of corruption by Paxton.
The impeachment became the latest flashpoint inside an already divided Republican Party of Texas. During the trial, state chairman Matt Rinaldi told the Y’all-itics political podcast that there will be an "all-out Republican civil war" if Paxton was convicted and removed from office.
Last Saturday, though, the Republican-led state senate acquitted Paxton on 16 of the 20 charges. The Senate did not consider four of the counts that related to pending criminal charges Paxton faces on securities fraud.
Patrick pointed out that many Democrats joined Republicans in voting to acquit on several articles.
But, for observers close and casual alike, one question relating to the trial has lingered: Why did Laura Olson, the woman with whom Paxton is alleged to have had an extramarital affair, not testify despite being called as a witness?
Here's how Paxton explains it: "The House [prosecutors] said, 'We want to ask her these 20 questions.' The Paxton side said, 'Well, if you put her up there and ask her 15 to 20 questions and she takes the Fifth, that could make our client look guilty and we don’t have a chance to cross examine.' So, we sat there and thought about it, and I said to the House [prosecutors], I said, 'Look, you all work this out.' And immediately, Erin Epley -- who I thought did a great job for the House -- immediately said, 'How about if we say she’s present but not available.' Those were the words of the House manager -- not mine. And I looked at [Paxton defense attorney] Tony Buzbee and [House manager] Andy Murr, who was standing behind him and they both shook their heads [that] they were OK with it. And the reason the House was OK with that is that they didn’t want to be criticized for not trying to call her."
Patrick’s revelations layer in new context on how Paxton’s historic trial played out.
It' still unclear, however, whether the House will now pay that $3.3 million dollar settlement between Paxton and the whistleblowers from his office – the very settlement that sparked the impeachment back in May.
Insiders tell WFAA that it is up to Republican leaders in the House to bring the settlement back up for another vote.
Over the course of the wide-ranging 30-minute interview, Patrick also said that he spoke to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott a few hours after the verdict.
He also answered why he accepted a $3 million dollar donation from a pro-Paxton group weeks before the impeachment trial began.
The unedited interview is now available in a special episode of Y’all-itics. Click here to listen to it. Or you can watch the full interview in the below embed, or on WFAA’s YouTube page.