By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will not testify in his upcoming impeachment trial in the state Senate, his lawyer said on Monday night, indicating that Paxton would fight efforts to compel him to testify.
State lawmakers impeached Paxton on May 27 on corruption charges and temporarily suspended him from office pending trial in the Texas Senate. Paxton is a supporter of former US President Donald Trump whose lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
The Texas Senate will try Paxton on 20 articles of impeachment filed against him. If two-thirds of the 31 senators find him guilty, he will be removed from office. Otherwise, he will be reinstated. Paxton’s impeachment trial will begin Sept. 5, according to CBS Texas.
Paxton’s impeachment by the Texas House of Representatives over allegations of corruption and other improprieties was prompted by his office’s request that the House fund a $3.3 million settlement he reached with four whistleblowers from his office.
Paxton has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Along with his impeachment, he faces a separate corruption investigation by the Justice Department, according to Texas special prosecutors leading his state case.
“The House ignored precedent, denied him the opportunity to present his defense and now wants to ambush him on the Senate floor,” Paxton’s attorney Tony Buzbee said in a statement late Monday.
“We will not bow to their vicious, illegal and unprecedented militarization of state power in the Senate chamber,” the attorney added.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Josie Kao)