By Lauren McGaughy and Philip Jankowski
AUSTIN — The House members who unsuccessfully prosecuted Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial last month released more than a dozen documents late Monday that at first included the attorney general’s home address and other personal information.
The tranche of documents include bank records, transcripts from the impeachment proceedings, payroll and residence records for Paxton’s alleged ex-lover and letters from trial witnesses’ lawyers. In a letter accompanying the information release dated Oct. 2, 2023, House managers said the documents provide Texans a “complete look at all the facts in full context.”
Much of the evidence was not presented in trial because witnesses to Paxton’s alleged crimes, including Paxton and Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, intended to invoke their Fifth Amendment right against incriminating themselves, the House managers added in their public letter.
“The House Board of Managers maintains that overwhelming and uncontroverted testimony and evidence was presented during the impeachment trial in support of the Articles of Impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton,” Reps. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, and Ann Johnson, D-Houston, wrote.
The documents were pulled down Tuesday morning and then republished with information such as home and email addresses redacted. Murr and Johnson, who led the managers, said the unredacted documents were “inadvertently uploaded” and were corrected.
Even after the records were republished, Paxton’s home address was not removed fully from all documents, which had to be corrected further; while redacted from the attorney general’s official financial disclosures, Paxton’s various addresses are viewable on county appraisal district websites.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment about the document release. Earlier Tuesday, one of Paxton’s defense attorneys accused the House members of “doxxing” the attorney general by releasing personal information.
“This information was redacted at trial, and you’re endangering people’s lives, clowns,” Mitch Little posted on the social media site X. Little was a member of Paxton’s defense team. He added that the House managers are trying to relitigate their case after losing. “This is some thermonuclear cope,” he posted.
The Texas House impeached Paxton in May for alleged abuse of office, bribery and other misdeeds. He was accused of doing favors for Paul, a campaign donor and federally indicted real estate investor, in exchange for a home remodel and a job for a woman with whom Paxton was alleged to have an affair.
The Senate, acting as the jury, dismissed all the articles of impeachment against Paxton after a two-week trial and reinstated him to his elected office last month.
The FBI is still investigating Paxton’s ties to Paul, but the attorney general has not been charged. Paul was charged with federal financial crimes in June.
Financial records released
Several of the newly released documents delve into the remodel at the Paxtons’ home in the Tarrytown neighborhood of Austin.
Paxton’s lawyers have insisted the couple paid for the work themselves and produced records showing they made a six-figure payment to a company called Cupertino Builders. The managers accuse Paul of fronting the cost as a bribe, noting Cupertino Builders is associated with Paul.
The documents do not include any explicit evidence of such a quid pro quo; instead, they underscore the close ties between Paul and the men working on the Paxtons’ home.
Kevin Wood, a contractor who worked on the Paxtons’ Austin home, submitted 70 pages of documents related to his work. Most were not among documents previously released during the impeachment trial. They include emails between Wood and Paul. In one email dated June 20, 2020, Wood updates Paul on his work and says he is going to “start guys on K job.”
On July 4, 2020, Wood sent photographs of an empty home to Paul with a note about sealer having been applied to the floor. Copied on the email is “Raj nate’s guy,” which appears to refer to Cupertino Builder’s founder Narsimha Sagiraju, who goes by Raj Shah.
Also included among the new documents are handwritten notes Sen. Angela Paxton, the attorney general’s wife, sent to Wood on Sept. 9, 2020, that list various home repair jobs.
In a letter accompanying the documents, Wood’s lawyer said the contractor “rarely generates written invoices” and did not do so in this case. He added, “Wood was never paid for the work he performed and has still not been paid.”
Wood did not testify. Leading up to trial, his lawyer indicated he would have pleaded the Fifth.
Cupertino Builders’ bank account documents also were released in the tranche. They show that $1.9 million of the $2.3 million flowing into the account in seven months of 2020 came from Nate Paul or one of his companies, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis of the records.
Paxton’s blind trust paid the company $121,000 in early October 2020, just days after the attorney general was reported to the FBI for alleged corruption.
The documents showed Cupertino Builders created the invoice for home improvements to the Paxton home only after it had already received payment from the blind trust. The invoice was backdated and had never been sent to the Paxtons, the document indicated.
The Paxtons had been back in the home since July, House managers attorney Erin Epley said in an interview Tuesday.
“At no time between July and October or anytime before that did anyone discuss payment for those renovations,” Epley said. “It was only after the whistle blew.”
Alleged ex-lover transcript
Also among the newly released documents is the full transcript of a behind-closed-doors conversation that occurred during the trial over whether Paxton’s ex-lover would be made to take the witness stand.
The decision to allow Laura Olson not to testify has been a source of fierce debate between the managers and Patrick since the trial ended.
In the transcript, Olson’s attorney said her client would not answer any questions, other than confirming her name, and cited the open FBI investigation into Paxton. Defense attorney Dan Cogdell supported Olson’s right to assert her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination and said allowing her to take the stand would prejudice the jury.
“I think her counsel’s concern is that she has exposure in the ongoing federal investigation involving Mr. Paul and Mr. Paxton,” Cogdell said. “And any association with Mr. Paul or Mr. Paxton viewed through that viewfinder could potentially cause her issues, and she would have a Fifth Amendment right to invoke even as to that, the address.”
Epley pushed back saying confirming her address and place of work would not incriminate her. The managers wanted to ask Olson 13 questions, including to confirm her alleged affair with Paxton.
“Those issues don’t implicate a criminal offense. You can’t just decide you don’t want the ridicule or embarrassment of addressing people or events you’ve been involved with and be able to plead the Fifth as a protection,” she said.
Patrick agreed with Cogdell on the prejudicial nature of Olson’s testimony.
“So, if she is going to take the Fifth, which means you’re not going to get any information, then it would seem to me her not answering questions and claiming the Fifth is prejudicial,” he told the House managers’ team.
Epley acknowledged the jury could read whatever they wanted into Olson’s choice not to testify. After Patrick gave Olson’s lawyer the final word, Epley offered a solution: Remove Olson from the equation altogether by having Patrick declare her unavailable for testimony.
After some pushback from her colleagues, Epley asked whether they could “backpedal” on what she said. Patrick answered, “no.” Epley and Olson’s attorney then agreed to the statement.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
