Media spent months convicting AG Ken Paxton on ‘innuendo’ and ‘rumor’: Tony Buzbee
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, joined ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss his client's trial as the political climate among Texas politicians starts to heat up.
Tony Buzbee, lawyer for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, blasted the liberal media for allegedly trying to convict his client on nothing more than "rumor" and "innuendo," after the embattled Republican was acquitted by the state Senate on Saturday.
"You know, the press in Texas, and the press nationally, spent three months convicting Ken Paxton on nothing but innuendo and rumor. We had a lot of high drama in Texas, and we finally got a chance to cross-examine witnesses. When that happened, the case pretty much fell flat and it was very clear that everything that this attorney general had been accused of was completely false," he told FOX News on Sunday.
Paxton's acquittal came amid accusations of corruption, bribery and unfitness for office by a bipartisan group of Texas state senators. He allegedly misused political power by accepting a bribe to hire Nate Paul, a real estate developer who employed Paxton's alleged mistress Laura Olson.
Paul was indicted earlier this year after allegedly making false statements to banks.
TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON WARNS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AFTER DEFEATING ‘SHAM IMPEACHMENT’: ‘BUCKLE UP’
Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, sits with his attorneys Dan Cogdell, right, and Tony Buzbee, left, during his impeachment trial in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)
Buzbee insisted the allegations against Paxton were made without proof and were politically motivated, sustained by lobbyists and the "liberal press in Texas."
He even claimed the "Bush regime" got behind the effort to unseat Paxton.
"We know that George Bush re-reactivated his law license. We know that the so-called whistleblowers were represented by a Bush protégé. We know that a lobbyist group affiliated with the Bushes were pushing a lot of the representatives to vote for impeachment," he claimed.
"This is a resounding victory for Ken Paxton and the grassroots in Texas, and I'm very proud to have been a part of it."
George P. Bush, son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, previously ran against Paxton for the Texas attorney general's seat but lost. Buzbee's accusations against the family echo statements from his closing arguments in court, during which he said, "The Bush era in Texas ends today."
ALLEGED MISTRESS OF TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON DEEMED ‘UNAVAILABLE’ TO TAKE STAND AT HIS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL
George P. Bush's team has not immediately responded to FOX News Digital's request for comment.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks outside the U.S. Supreme Court on November 01, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Olson, Paxton's alleged mistress, was meant to testify while Paxton's wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-Texas, was present, but was deemed "unavailable" to take the stand at the trial. Sen. Paxton was present while one of the embattled attorney general's ex-staffers, former chief of staff Katherine Cary, stated that his alleged affair generated problems for his office.
"I told General Paxton quite bluntly it wasn’t my business who he was sleeping with, but when things bleed over into the office and into the state work, it becomes my business," Cary said Monday.
Buzbee, while cross-examining Cary, said, "Imagine if we impeached everyone in Austin who had an affair. We’d be impeaching people for the next 100 years."
TEXAS AG PAXTON ACQUITTED ON ALL IMPEACHMENT CHARGES: ‘THE TRUTH PREVAILED’
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, center, and legal counsel Lana Myers, right, listen to defense and prosecution attorneys during the impeachment trial for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
All 12 Democrats in the jury voted for his impeachment, along with two Republican Sens. Robert Nichols and Kelly Hancock, but the jury fell short of the 21-vote threshold needed to confirm the impeachment.
After his acquittal, Paxton issued a scathing letter aimed at the White House, blasting the Biden administration for being behind the "sham" impeachment while vowing to hold the president "accountable" for "lawless policies."
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Fox News' Andrea Vacchiano and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
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