What is going on with the Republican-led government in the "Lone Star State"?
The impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could wrap up by the end of this week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told the state Senate on Monday.
During the trial, former employees admitted that they reported Paxton to the FBI without any evidence.
What the Paxton "whistleblowers" went on, according to the testimony of former deputy attorney general Ryan Vassar, was a "good faith belief" that Paxton had committed crimes.
The whistleblowers' meeting with the FBI in the Fall of 2020 eventually led to the majority of the impeachment articles which allege that Paxton misused his office to benefit a specific individual who had, several years earlier, donated to one of Paxton’s campaigns.
During cross-examination by Mitch Little, an attorney for Paxton, Vassar revealed that he and the other employees had gone to the FBI without a shred of evidence.
“Mr. Vassar, please, I want to get this straight — you went to the FBI on September 30 with your compatriots, and reported the elected attorney general of this state for a crime without any evidence? Yes?”
“That’s right,” Vassar admitted. “We took no evidence.”
He attempted to clarify, saying, “We had no evidence that we could point to, but we had reasonable conclusions we could draw.”
Little then asked if, after going to the FBI without any evidence, the whistleblowers later collected evidence that would corroborate their claims to the FBI.
“I don’t recall that we collected any evidence,” Vassar said, again stating that he and his fellow whistleblowers had gone to the feds to report a “good faith belief” of criminal activity.
Little responded: “Respectfully sir, we are not here for your good faith belief.”
The Federalist's Jonathan Richie noted that Paxton, "like many other notable conservatives in America, has been the subject of potential weaponization of the federal government — an institution he has successfully sued many times. Even right now, as the impeachment trial continues, former President Donald Trump — who is by far the favorite for the GOP nomination — is currently being targeted by the apparatus of the federal government."
A Harvard-Harris poll taken earlier this year found that 70 percent of people are concerned “about interference by the FBI and intelligence agencies in a future presidential election.”
Vassar would apparently be among the other 30 percent.
“Do you trust the Feds? Do you trust the FBI?” Little asked Vassar during cross-examination.
“Yes, I have no reason not to, I trust law enforcement and our peace officers,” Vassar responded.
“You can’t think of one reason in the last three or four years not to trust the FBI?” Little pressed, adding "Ken Paxton told you he didn’t want to help the feds in any way, didn’t he?”
“Yes sir,” Vassar said.
The Federalist's Richie added that it is "important to note that in the three years since the so-called whistleblowers went to the FBI with their 'good faith belief' of criminal action from Paxton, the bureau has never taken a single public action on the item."
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