Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will not testify before the state senate during a trial weighing his removal from office after his impeachment in May.
Tony Buzbee, Paxton's attorney, announced the decision Monday, saying his legal team would "not dignify the illegal House action" and slamming Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan.
"Speaker Phelan's disciples, who he personally appointed to be House impeachment managers, have refused to turn over any evidence at all — even though it has always been provided to the respondent in every other Texas impeachment proceeding," Buzbee said.
"No one should expect Attorney General Paxton now to surrender his own constitutional rights, allowing liberals to set a dangerous precedent that would encourage future kangaroo courts and sham proceedings such as the one brought by the Texas House."
News of Paxton's decision not to appear in the Senate follows the lower chamber passing more than 20 articles of impeachment against him, citing various misuses of his federal office.
Among the accusations made against Paxton, a Republican, were claims of fraud, bribery, potential felony securities fraud charges, and allegedly utilizing state funds to assist donors and cheat on his spouse.
But The Texas Tribune noted that Paxton believes the impeachment is "illegal," arguing that a Texas law prohibits elected officials from being removed from office for things that happened before their election.
First elected in 2014 and twice since, Paxton has contended that the actions should be considered prior to his most recent reelection and thus voided.
However, the House maintains that the so-called "forgiveness doctrine" does not even apply to impeachment proceedings to begin with, let alone his most recent reelection.
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