Saturday Special Impeachment Report

I have been in some pretty special rooms around this old planet, but the Texas Senate chamber is one of my favorites. I have yet to find a photograph that can do it justice. The sky blue on the ceiling is so disarmingly correct, you almost feel like the ceiling really is a bunch of skylights.

I have devoted many hours this week to watching the Impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Paxton. I have watched and/or listened to many similar proceedings – going all the way back to Watergate, the Clarence Thomas hearings, etc. Some may find it odd, but I have always been fascinated by the “nuts and bolts” of these events. That this one occurs in my beloved Texas only further elevates my interest.

First, some comments about the Judge in this trial – Lt. Governor Patrick: He is running a very tight ship. Early on, he gently admonished the jurors (the entire Senate) to be on time when returning from breaks. He also made it clear that he would tolerate no theatrics from either side – establishing this early, by calling out Buzbee for unnecessarily raising his voice at a witness. The attorneys doing the questioning (both sides) have been very careful, since. However, yesterday, things got pretty heated between attorneys Cogdell (Defense) and Deguerin (Managers) during questioning of Hall Of Fame Texas Ranger David Maxwell. (Maxwell served as Director of the Law Enforcement Division of the Attorney General’s office.)

Patrick, quite dramatically, halted the proceedings and asked both sides to approach the Bench. I assume he demanded that counsel not argue with each other over objections and to address the Bench only.

I detect no bias in Patrick’s conduct of this trial. He has unabashedly ruled against both sides on mundane and critical issues. Patrick’s legal counsel for the trial is Lana Myers, who spent 13 years as a judge on the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals. She sits at his left elbow throughout the proceedings.

As I understand it, at this early stage of the trial, the House Managers are calling their witnesses and the Defense has the opportunity to redirect following such testimony.

These early witnesses are very important because they include the (former) highest ranking lawyers in the Attorney General’s office – Division Directors and Deputy AG’s.

The questioning and testimony can be very tedious and arcane, as “who did what and when” and other evidence is established. It is quite interesting to watch some of the top litigation attorneys in this state questioning and sparing with witnesses who are also among the elite attorneys in Texas. I have observed no “gotcha” moments, so far….probably because all of these pros are very, very sharp.

But getting this evidence into the record is just a part of what is going on. As in any trial, each side is building a story to buttress their closing arguments. It is fun to try and predict how each witness’s testimony will figure into those arguments. Note that the Rules allow each side only one hour of final arguments. They should be very interesting to watch, nonetheless.

After the first four witnesses, my general observation is that the Defense better “get on the stick” if they are going to gain acquittal on all 20 of the Articles. Theirs is a pretty “weak sauce”, so far. The Managers only need conviction on one Article to oust our Attorney General.

On the opening day of the trial, while settling Pre-Trial Motions, the Defense only needed a simple majority vote to throw out any of the Articles. They failed on each and every one.

But keep in mind, it takes a vote of 2/3rds of the Senate to convict….21 of 31. There are 12 Democrats in the Senate. Nine Republicans will be needed to convict.

An interesting tidbit of evidence that came out early:

Failed Attorney General candidate George P. Bush filed to reactivate his law license (dormant for ten years) on the day after the Whistleblowers went to the FBI to report alleged crimes of the Attorney General.

Trivia Part ll:

When the SHTF in the first week of October 2020, Texas swamp creature Attorney Johnny Sutton became the personal attorney for at least several of the Whistleblowers. Sutton is a long time Bushie, serving Governor GW Bush and then later, on the Bush/Cheney transition team at the U.S. Department of Justice. Whistleblower Ryan Vassar, the former Texas Deputy Attorney General for the Legal Counsel Division, testified that after three years he has yet to receive an invoice for Sutton’s services and has no idea what the eventual invoice amount will be.

Could the fix be in, Honeychile?