'Crazy' and 'insane': Whistleblower testifies Ken Paxton ordered staff to investigate feds
A whistleblower testifying in Ken Paxton's impeachment trial revealed that the Texas attorney general ordered his staff to investigate federal agents on behalf of a friend.
On Monday, former staffer Mark Penley told the impeachment jurors that he thought Paxton's favor for businessman Nate Paul was "insane." Penley said Paxton wanted investigations of agencies involved in a raid on Paul's home.
"[Staffer] David Maxwell and I saw no merit to the complaint," Penley explained. "We saw no state interest. We saw no evidence of a state crime violation."
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
"Speaking for myself, I thought it was crazy, and I was hoping the Attorney General would drop it," he continued.
An impeachment prosecutor asked Penley to explain his thinking.
READ MORE: GOPer likens Joe Biden to Osama bin Laden on 9/11 anniversary
"The idea that the state of Texas Attorney General's office would go investigate the federal courthouse, investigate federal agents and also state agents that were task force officers on the raid, and those were agents from the DPS and the State Securities Board, that we would investigate a federal magistrate judge and federal prosecutors was insane," he remarked.