Head of Baltimore police leaving post

FILE - Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison speaks during a news conference, July 23, 2019, in Baltimore. Commissioner Harrison is stepping down after four years in the role, a tenure that focused on leading the city. Harrisons departure was announced Thursday, June 8, 2023 at a news conference held on short notice at City Hall. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
FILE - Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison speaks during a news conference, July 23, 2019, in Baltimore. Commissioner Harrison is stepping down after four years in the role, a tenure that focused on leading the city. Harrisons departure was announced Thursday, June 8, 2023 at a news conference held on short notice at City Hall. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Paxton's lawyer:

Case is 'baloney'

The Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas -- A new lawyer for Ken Paxton on Wednesday raised skepticism that the Texas attorney general's impeachment trial could be done quickly and attacked the case that could lead to the Republican's permanent removal from office as a sham.

Tony Buzbee is a prominent Houston attorney whose high-profile client list includes former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and women who accused NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual harassment and assault. His hiring sets up a clash between some of the state's most well-known lawyers over Paxton's political future.

"The impeachment articles that have been laid out by the House are baloney," Buzbee said at a news conference at the Republican Party of Texas' Austin headquarters. "The allegations are untrue."

The impeachment trial in the Texas Senate is set to begin no later than Aug. 28. "If we're really going to have a trial, it's going to take a lot longer than that," Buzbee said.

Buzbee joins several member of the attorney general's staff who are set to square off against two high-profile lawyers the House brought in to present the case against Paxton, who was suspended from office following his impeachment on 20 articles including abuse of public trust and bribery.

Buzbee and one of Paxton's longtime criminal defense attorneys, Dan Cogdell, criticized the House's impeachment process as rushed and secretive. Lawmakers allied with Paxton mounted similar complaints in May before 60 of the House's 85 Republicans, including Speaker Dade Phelan, voted to impeach.

"There was no due process before the House," said Cogdell, who represents Paxton in a long-stalled securities fraud case and a separate FBI investigation into many of the same allegations that led to his impeachment.

The case for Paxton's impeachment is set to be presented by Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin, who over decades in Texas have become practically as recognizable in courtrooms as the politicians and famous figures they have represented.

Buzbee said the current time frame would not give Paxton's legal team enough time to take testimony from more than 60 witnesses and review thousands of documents. He suggested the trial might need to be put off until next summer.

The trial date, as well as a June 20 Senate meeting to consider trial rules, were set by a Senate vote. It was not immediately clear if those dates could be changed without a similar vote by the 31 senators.

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