The fourth day of the impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton saw some shocking revelations. A key witness for the prosecution fired Texas Ranger David Maxwell, admitted under oath that he pretended not to hear questions asked by Paxton’s attorney during his cross-examination to throw him off.
It went from tension to comedy back to tension again today at one point in the Ken Paxton impeachment trial. Here's an exchange between defense attorney Dan Cogdell and former Texas Ranger David Maxwell.
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— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) September 8, 2023
Dan Cogdell, a criminal defense attorney from Houston, was questioning Maxwell on Friday afternoon when it became apparent that something was amiss. Cogdell had known Maxwell since 1993 and referred to him as a “Texas Ranger hall of famer” whom he had great respect for. After working with the Texas Department of Public Safety for nearly 40 years, Maxwell led the law enforcement division at the Office of the Attorney General under Paxton.
Fired Texas Ranger admits he pretended not to hear to throw off Paxton attorney (The Center Square) – On day 4 of the impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a key witness for the prosecution, fired Texas Ranger David Maxwell…https://t.co/bQgB3tsTh3
— The Black Chronicle (@BlackChron) September 9, 2023
The Texas Ranger was fired in November 2020 for insubordination and later sued for wrongful termination. Some of his discussions with the House General Investigating Committee were used in four articles of impeachment against Paxton which include bribery, abuse of public trust, and being unfit for office among other charges.
Interestingly, Texas Ranger Drew Carter lived in my neighborhood. Our kids went to the same elementary school. Drew never talked about his work. My wife knew him from the DA’s Office. Drew Carter ran down Rafael Ramirez Resendez. https://t.co/hZrb1FhlHH
— Houston Conservative Forum (@houston_cf) September 11, 2023
Cogdell pointed out that Maxwell had a hearing aid so he could speak louder into his microphone but when asked questions by other attorneys, Maxwell did not appear to have any hearing problems. Cogdell then asked why he couldn’t hear his questions and after a pause and smile from Maxwell, he admitted that pretending not to hear would throw off an attorney.
30 year Texas Ranger: “ I knew then what his commitment was to Nate Paul and that he was not going to be deterred,” Ranger Maxwell said. “He was angry with me because I was not buying into the big conspiracy theory."https://t.co/SpKOchBZba
— ???????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? (@SonnyMarchbanks) September 9, 2023
This admission came as quite a surprise considering how highly respected Maxwell is in law enforcement circles throughout Texas and beyond. It’s clear that this will be an important piece in understanding what happened during this trial as well as figuring out whether there is any truth behind these allegations against Ken Paxton or if they are simply unfounded accusations against him due to political motivations.
