Ken Paxton's former chief of staff testifies at impeachment trial

Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is currently in the middle of a high-profile impeachment trial, continues to generate headlines, including comments from former staff members.

According to Breitbart, during the impeachment trial, state House Impeachment Managers called Katherine “Missy” Minter Cary, Paxton's former chief of staff, to testify.

She was asked about Paxton's affair with Laura Olson.

During her testimony, she "also testified about the impact of calendaring changes, extra hours, and weekends staff had to work due to his behavior. This 'was not state business.'"

Breitbart noted:

Paxton’s former chief of staff testified about her knowledge of the General’s acknowledgment and discussions about his extramarital affair, as well as the staff meeting where Paxton acknowledged his infidelity to his staff and wife, Texas Senator Angela Paxton (R-Mckinney). Ken Paxton served as a Texas state senator with his constituency centered in Collin County, a county also central to Angela Paxton’s election.

For his part, the suspended Texas AG has not attended his impeachment hearing, with the exception of the first day when he was required to enter a plea. He pleaded "not guilty."

His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R), was not sworn in as a juror, for obvious reasons, but state law requires her to attend the impeachment hearing, forcing her to listen to the testimony regarding her husband's affair with Olson.

Now testifying: Katherine Minter Cary, OAG attorney #PaxtonImpeachment pic.twitter.com/hmfFjDeo3X

— Tom Abrahams (@TomAbrahams13) September 11, 2023

The testimony was presumably difficult to hear for anyone listening.

AG Paxton's former chief of staff noted that wife Angela Paxton would often call the AG's office, wondering where he was. That obviously put staffers in quite the awkward situation, as they all knew where he was and who he was with.

That, Minter Cary said, caused a noticeable drop in staff morale, as they were continuously forced to cover for his absences and abnormal scheduling.

Minter Cary once gave the Texas AG "ethics advice" in 2018 regarding his adulterous behavior.

"The ethics advice in 2018 was that when you try to keep things secret, and you’re a statewide elected official who’s running for office, that they could be both ethically, legally and morally challenging, and that it was beginning to bleed over into the office," she said on the stand. She said she gave him the same advice the following year.

According to The Hill, jury deliberations could begin as soon as Thursday or Friday.