WATCH LIVE: Ken Paxton impeachment trial enters second week
AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Texas' Court of Impeachment reconvened Monday morning for the second week of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton's trial, leading off with key testimony from one of Paxton's top deputies.
House prosecutors called Mark Penley to the witness stand as their fifth witness of trial. Penley was the deputy attorney general for criminal justice in Paxton's office before Paxton fired him. Penley filed the wrongful termination lawsuit that led directly to Paxton's impeachment, after whistleblowers claimed they were fired for reporting Paxton to the FBI for criminal conduct including bribery and abuse of power.
Penley described a concerning relationship Paxton had with Nate Paul, the real estate investor and Paxton campaign donor at the core of the prosecutors' case. Penley testified Paxton pressured him to intervene in a federal investigation facing Paul.
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"I thought it was very suspicious that someone who was the target of a federal investigation was reaching out to the attorney general for legal help," Penley said. "My initial reaction was ‘this is crazy...' we hoped to slow-walk it and see if the attorney general would drop it."
Follow along for live updates throughout the day.
Verdict timeline
The court could return a verdict as soon as Thursday or Friday. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick advised the court Monday morning that each side has about 14.5 hours left to present their case. They intend to deliberate through at least 6:30 each evening until time has expired. The court will not take a day off until a verdict is reached.
If Paxton is found guilty by two-thirds of the Senate on any of the 16 impeachment charges, he will be removed from office. Senators would then determine whether to prohibit him from running for office in the future.