Impeachment trial of AG Ken Paxton continues Thursday
UPDATE 6:18 P.M.: Court has been adjourned for the day. Closing arguments will begin at 9 a.m. Friday morning.
UPDATE 5:35 P.M.: Paxton's legal team has rested their case.
UPDATE 3:19 P.M.: Grant Dorfman, the deputy first assistant at the attorney general's office, has taken the stand.
UPDATE 3:14 P.M.: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announces the House withdrew its request to change Senate rules. If Paxton is convicted, House wanted him to not only be removed from office but also automatically disqualified from ever holding state office again. Rule requiring two votes stays.
UPDATE 2 P.M.: Henry De La Garza, the HR director at the attorney general's office, has taken the stand.
UPDATE 1:55 P.M: Trial has resumed.
UPDATE 12:20 P.M.: The trial has paused for a lunch break. It's set to begin again at 1:30 p.m.
During cross-examination, Kinghorn was pressed on who he serves in his position at the attorney general's office. He stated he serves the people of Texas and the attorney general.
"If you had to choose between the state of texas' interests and the attorney general's interests, whose do you chose?" Erin Epley, House impeachment manager lawyer asked.
Kinghorn replied, "I do not see them in conflict."
During direct questioning, Kinghorn was asked about many of the articles of impeachment the attorney general is facing.
When asked about Article IV, which states that Paxton "improperly obtained access to information held by his office," Kinghorn testified that an attorney general should have access to any access in his office: "His name's on the wall. It's his agency."
Kinghorn also spoke about the report released by the attorney general's office after an internal investigation into the whistleblowers' complaints about Paxton. During his testimony Wednesday, former top deputy Blake Brickman said that report was "whitewash full of lies and omissions."
Article VII claims Paxton "directed employees of his office to conduct a sham investigation" and to publish a "report containing false or misleading statements in Paxton's defense."
Thursday morning, Kinghorn said he was asked to give feedback on the document three to four times. He was asked if he was ever directed to include false or misleading statements in it. He said he was not.
UPDATE 11:20 A.M.: During the trial, Paxton posted on social media asking his supporters to donate to his campaign, which has support from former President Donald Trump.
UPDATE 11:15 A.M.: Austin Kinghorn, associate deputy attorney general for legal counsel at the attorney general's office, took the stand as the defense's second witness Thursday morning.
UPDATE 10:43 A.M.: Trial is going on a 20 minute break.
UPDATE 9:30 A.M.: Thursday morning, Attorney General Paxton's defense called its first witness to the stand – Justin Gordon, open records division chief at the Office of the Texas Attorney General.
Two of the articles of impeachment relate to Paxton's alleged instructions to his top deputies to release previously sealed records to developer and donor Nate Paul, that were about an investigation into Paul.
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) – The impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton continues in Austin at 9 a.m.
The seventh day of the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was marked by twists, turns and long delays.
When it was all done, senators heard from three witnesses and the House impeachment managers rested the prosecution's case.
The day started off with a major announcement: the House impeachment managers called Laura Olson, Paxton's alleged mistress, to the stand. But almost as soon as she'd been called, it was announced she wasn't eligible to be called yet.
Shortly after Patrick's surprising announcement about Olson, there was another surprise. House impeachment manager attorney Rusty Hardin finished direct questioning whistleblower Blake Brickman and accidentally rested the case without allowing the defense a chance to cross-examine Brickman.
Wednesday afternoon, Paxton's defense attorney specifically pushed back against Impeachment Article X, which alleges constitutional bribery, claiming Nate Paul provided renovations to Paxton's home in exchange for legal assistance from and access to the attorney general's office.
House impeachment managers introduced an amendment to the Senate's impeachment rules Wednesday morning. They want to make it so that if senators vote to convict Paxton on any of the charges he's facing, he'll be automatically prevented from serving in office in Texas again. Currently, a separate vote would be needed to decide that.
Senators will vote on the motion at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Watch the trial in the player above or on the CBS News Texas YouTube channel.
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