(The Center Square) – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday issued an order related to witnesses that have been called to testify before the Senate in the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
It states, “The court hereby orders each person appearing as a witness in the trial of impeachment to appear outside of the front door of the Senate Chamber on September 5, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. A subpoena recipient may disregard the 9 a.m. time designation on a subpoena for appearance issued by the Court for September 5th.
“The Court further orders counsel for each party to notify the party’s witneses of this order. Failure of a witness to appear on September 5, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. may result in contempt of court.”
There are reportedly 100 people on the witness list, according to a leaked document obtained by the Dallas Morning News in violation of the gag order.
On Tuesday, state senators also convened behind closed doors in the state Capitol. They didn’t vote on any pending motions, the Dallas Morning News reported, including motions to dismiss 19 articles of impeachment and to request three Democratic senators be removed as jurors because they’ve already publicly stated their belief that Paxton is guilty.
Nineteen of the 20 articles violate the “prior-term doctrine” established in Texas law, Paxton’s attorneys argue. The prior-term doctrine prevents conviction or removal of an impeached official when the facts underlying the allegations occurred “if at all, before the officer’s most recent election, and those allegations were public before voters cast their ballots,” their motion, filed with the court last month, states.
The “prior-term doctrine” is firmly rooted in Texas law, Texas Supreme Court decisions, and Texas impeachment precedents, Paxton’s attorneys argue.
“The alleged acts underlying nineteen of the articles took place before the Attorney General’s most recent election and were highly publicized. Under the prior-term doctrine, they therefore cannot factually or legally form the basis for the Attorney General’s removal. And by the House admission, they did not,” the attorneys argue.
Prior to the gag order being issued last month, Paxton’s lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, said Paxton would not testify.
“Attorney General Paxton will not dignify the illegal House action by testifying,” Buzbee said. “The House has ignored precedent, denied him an opportunity to prepare his defense, and now wants to ambush him on the floor of the Senate. They had the opportunity to have Attorney General Paxton testify during their sham investigation but refused to do so. We will not bow to their evil, illegal, and unprecedented weaponization of state power in the Senate chamber.”
As to what the senators discussed on Tuesday, Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, told Dallas Morning News, “We just discussed the rules and regulations for next week.” After that, they were “done for the week,” he said.
The trial begins on Sept. 5.
