Ken Paxton’s Attorney Cancels News Conference After Gag Order Issued Over Impeachment Trial

Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office in Austin, Texas, on May 26, 2023. Eric Gay/AP Photo

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who will oversee Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, issued a sweeping gag order scolding lawyers on both sides for “inflammatory” public comments ahead of the historic September proceedings.

“The court finds that individuals involved in the trial of impeachment will likely continue to make public prejudicial and inflammatory statements unless this order is issued,” Mr. Patrick wrote in the gag order issued on Monday (pdf).

Mr. Patrick, who leads the Senate and will preside over the impeachment, issued the order just ahead of a high-profile news conference with Mr. Paxton’s lead attorney Tony Buzbee, which was scheduled for Tuesday but has now been canceled.

In an announcement for the news conference, Mr. Buzbee accused House Speaker Dade Phelan of driving a “kangaroo court” that is withholding the truth from the public in its effort to impeach the Republican attorney general.

“Disgraced House Speaker Dade Phelan refuses to follow Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s lawful order requiring the disclosure of all documents used by or relied upon by the kangaroo court that impeached conservative Attorney General Ken Paxton; a flawed effort accomplished in less than three days, in a four-hour hearing, with absolutely no evidence,” Mr. Buzbee wrote in a statement shared by The Texan News on Twitter.

The impeachment has highlighted the divisions among Texas Republicans. Sixty of the 85 House Republicans voted with Democrats to impeach Mr. Paxton. There are 150 members in the Texas House.

“The bottom line is that Ken Paxton is being impeached because he is the most conservative Attorney General in America and has won numerous legal victories against Joe Biden’s lawlessness,” Mr. Buzbee’s statement continued. “He’s sued Biden almost 50 times to prevent him from shredding our constitutional rights, and now, powerful politicians in the Texas House are working to overturn an election to help Joe Biden achieve his goals.”

State senators who will serve as Mr. Paxton’s jury once his trial begins were already barred from speaking publicly about the case under rules issued earlier this summer. But Mr. Patrick, a former Houston broadcaster and conservative talk radio host, is now reining in attorneys on both sides.

“The court finds that out-of-court statements relating to the matters of this impeachment proceeding pose a serious and imminent threat to Warren Kenneth Paxton, Jr.’s, right to a fair trial of impeachment, the ability of the members of the court to remain fair and impartial, and to the fair administration of justice,” the gag order stated.

Star Power Lawyers

The trial has no shortage of Texas legal star power.

On one side is Mr. Buzbee, whose past clients include former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was accused of abuse of power in 2013 when he threatened to withhold $7.5 million in state funds from the Travis County public integrity unit after the county district attorney was arrested for drunk driving. The Houston lawyer also represented the women who accused NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual harassment and assault.

On the House side are Houston lawyers Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin, who will present the case to permanently remove Paxton from office. Combined, they have represented a long roster of celebrities and famous figures.

Mr. DeGuerin successfully defended former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) over accusations of misconduct. He also defended Robert Durst, a New York real estate mogul who was acquitted in a 2003 murder trial.

Mr. Hardin’s former clients include Arthur Anderson, the accounting firm at the center of the Enron scandal in 2001, and the estate of Texas oil tycoon and billionaire J. Howard Marshall in a dispute with Marshall’s former Playboy model wife, Anna Nicole Smith.

Impeachment

Mr. Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years over accusations by members of his own staff that he used his office to help a donor. He was separately indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, though he has yet to stand trial.

On May 29, the Republican-controlled House sent 20 articles of impeachment against Mr. Paxton to the state Senate (pdf). He is the third sitting official to be impeached in Texas’ nearly 200-year history. Removal from office would require a two-thirds majority of the Senate.

There are 31 members: 19 Republicans, including Sen. Angela Paxton, the suspended attorney general’s wife, and 12 Democrats.

Ms. Paxton has been barred from voting in her husband’s impeachment trial, which is set to begin on Sept. 5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.