(C) Texas Tribune This story was originally published by Texas Tribune and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Blast: We’ll see you in court [1] [] Date: 2023-11 Sep 25, 2023 | View in browser By Renzo Downey and The Texas Tribune Politics Team Note: Lead Blast writer Renzo Downey will be out of the office until Oct. 15. However, The Texas Tribune and the politics team will continue delivering The Blast to your inbox each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. WHISTLEBLOWERS TURN ATTENTION TO SCOTX Now we know for sure what the Ken Paxton whistleblowers plan to do with the shattered remains of their $3.3 million settlement. The four whistleblowers, who accused the attorney general of having a quid pro quo with developer and donor Nate Paul and who sued the AG’s office for wrongful termination, say they have asked the Supreme Court of Texas to reopen the case. “The political trial is over, and it’s time for the case to return to a real court,” former Deputy Attorney General Blake Brickman told reporters. Per Brickman, a few things will be different this time around: “Our judge will not receive a multimillion-dollar donation from Paxton supporters on the eve of trial. Our jurors will not have their careers overtly threatened. The jury will see evidence the House managers were prohibited from introducing in the impeachment trial.” One of the pieces of evidence they will expect the jury to hear is that Raj Kumar, the contractor on the Paxtons’ home remodel project, is a felon who they say assisted Paul in fraud. The whistleblowers noted they will call Laura Olson, Paul, Kumar, the attorney general and his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, to testify. Each will have to testify under oath or plead the 5th from the stand. As of now, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has not issued an official response. Paxton attorney Mitch Little tweeted that the whistleblowers are “apparently very upset” about the outcome. More formally, OAG spokesperson Paige Willey says the office will file a written response to SCOTX “as opposed to staging a press event in the state Capitol.” Brickman also addressed the assertion from Paxton’s defense during the trial that the whistleblowers’ mutual attorney, Johnny Sutton, was working pro bono. Sutton has ties to former President George W. Bush, plus Sutton was integral to the Paxton defense argument that the impeachment is the product of a Bush dynasty/establishment conspiracy to oust the attorney general. “I can’t speak for my colleagues, but I can tell you my attorneys are on a contingency fee, so they will be paid,” Brickman said. “The idea that anyone is doing pro bono work for us, whether it’s our civil lawyers or Mr. Sutton … it’s ludicrous. It’s a total sideshow.” Read more about the whistleblowers at texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. HIDDEN AD DAN PATRICK STIRS THE POT Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick continues to make news with his perspectives about the Paxton trial, many of which have been disputed by critics. Yesterday, Patrick posted a 46-minute video rounding out his outlook and the outlooks of senators who voted to acquit Paxton. As part of that video, in an interview with Sherry Sylvester, a conservative journalist and communications worker who previously served as a senior adviser to the lieutenant governor, Patrick detailed when he first got word that the House was going to impeach Paxton. He said he brought up the rumor to Speaker Dade Phelan at the end of their infamous meeting before the two emerged onto the Senate dais side by side. Patrick relayed that Phelan denied knowing about it and continued his war of words with his House counterpart. “I look back on that,” Patrick said. “Either he wasn’t telling me the truth — and I wouldn’t accuse him of that, of course, but I’d be surprised if they’re going to impeach Ken Paxton and didn’t tell the speaker — and if they hadn’t told him that that meant the speaker decided in about 72 hours for the first time in 100 years to impeach someone when he didn’t have any evidence or any information or any record to go on. So, either way, it wasn’t a good answer from a speaker.” Patrick also published a new statement and transcript today disputing what prosecuting attorney Erin Epley said about the decision for the managers not to call Laura Olson, the woman with whom Paxton had an affair. At this weekend’s Texas Tribune Festival, Epley said both sides agreed to language saying Olson was unavailable to testify only after Patrick made clear he would side with the defense on the question of whether the court could compel Olson to testify. Getting into specifics, Patrick disputed Rusty Hardin’s characterization that Patrick outright said he would side with the defense. While Hardin may have overstated their case, both Epley’s and Patrick’s statements can be true. Patrick may have never outright said he was going to side with Olson and Paxton’s defense and he may have conveyed doubts about the managers’ arguments. Jumping back to the whistleblowers’ announcement today for a moment, the group is also pressing back against the recent assertion from Patrick that the whistleblowers were the first to suggest that they settle with the OAG. In a letter sent to senators, Joseph R. Knight, whistleblower Ryan Vassar’s attorney in the lawsuit, submitted an affidavit that outside counsel for the OAG called him “out of the blue” to suggest they settle. Knight also included an email he sent to the other whistleblowers’ attorneys that affirmed the date Team Paxton called him “out of the blue.” However, that email does not state what was discussed during the phone call. WATSON on HIS chaotic FIRST DAYS, and going forward Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also made some news this weekend during the Texas Tribune Festival. Tony Plohetski of the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE began his one-on-one with the mayor by asking him about the decision of Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a former colleague from their days in the Texas Capitol, to switch his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Both were moderate Democrats during their time in the Legislature. “This won’t be the first time I don’t follow Eric Johnson,” Watson said. The mayor also reflected on the chaotic early days of his first term back in City Hall since the turn of the millennium. “The first three weeks I was mayor, like, everything happened,” Watson said. That checks. In the first few months, everything from the winter storm, to the Salvation Army shelter closure, to the APD-DPS partnership went down in the capital city. Watson stood firm in his controversial decision allowing the Austin Police Department to try out a partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety in which state troopers assisted with traffic enforcement and responding to 911 calls. Ultimately, that agreement blew up after data suggested state troopers were stopping people of color at much higher rates than white people. Public outrage after one incident in particular, where early news reports said an Austin man and his 10-year-old son accused DPS of pointing a gun at them, leading Watson to cancel the partnership. (Bodycam footage from the event showed troopers drew their guns but kept them pointed toward the ground.) “The truth of the matter is, I feel very comfortable with the decision,” Watson said. “We need to have leadership that’s willing to try things and not be paralyzed by the fear of failure. He added that, next time, he would give a few extra days heads up before implementing the plan. Watson also continued his approach to preventing another freeze response like the city had this year, saying this year’s response “stunk.” The mayor said an after-action report from the city should be available this week and will serve as a checklist for the responses to future storms. “The most embarrassing thing about the after-action report is that, if you read the after-action report following the previous winter storm, it wasn’t done,” Watson said. “The things that were in that after-action report were not done — a lot of things.” ENDORSEMENT BATTLE IN TX-SEN DEM PRIMARY A significant wave of state and local elected officials took sides today in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, as two of the leading candidates released new endorsement lists. First, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, unveiled a list of 18 endorsements topped by Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis. Then, a few hours later, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio put out a longer list that included 16 of his colleagues in the Texas Legislature. Allred and Gutierrez are among at least eight Democrats running to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The endorsement lists reflected the political careers of Allred and Gutierrez so far. Allred’s list was heavy on names from the Dallas area, which he’s represented in Congress since his 2018 election. And Gutierrez’s list had many names from or near his native San Antonio, which he’s represented in the Texas Legislature since 2008. But both men were able to corral endorsements from outside their backyards. Allred’s list included local elected officials in the Waco area, the Rio Grande Valley and Austin. Meanwhile, Gutierrez got support from four of his Senate colleagues — Sen. José Menéndez of San Antonio and then three from outside San Antonio: Sens. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin, Carol Alvarado of Houston and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen. Alvarado chairs the Senate Democratic Caucus. While Gutierrez has gotten the lion’s share of state legislative endorsements in the primary, Allred has not been without them. His endorsements today included three state representatives from the Dallas area: Reps. Toni Rose, Venton Jones and Rhetta Bowers, who is running to succeed Allred in his U.S. House seat. — Patrick Svitek CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP TX-18: The Brady PAC has endorsed former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards in the Democratic primary to potentially succeed Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston. Jackson Lee is currently running for Houston mayor and hasn’t confirmed whether she’ll run for Congress again. Everyone’s talking about news made from The Texas Tribune Festival. If you weren’t able to join us, here’s your chance to catch up on what you missed. Watch the biggest interviews from TribFest 2023 on demand and catch up on the headlines from the Festival at the Tribune’s Watch the biggest interviews from TribFest 2023 on demand and catch up on the headlines from the Festival at the Tribune’s Festival news page HIDDEN IMAGE First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster is threatening legal action if Comptroller Glenn Hegar does not issue back pay to Attorney General Ken Paxton from the time he was suspended during the impeachment proceedings. is threatening legal action if Comptroller does not issue back pay to Attorney General from the time he was suspended during the impeachment proceedings. Speaking on CBS yesterday, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales , R-San Antonio, said he is opposed to Congress passing a continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown — not because he wants to see a shutdown, but because Congress needs hard deadlines to force everyone to the negotiating table. “I don’t want to see a shutdown, but there is no doubt in my mind, the country is headed for a shutdown and everyone should prepare as such.” , R-San Antonio, said he is opposed to Congress passing a continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown — not because he wants to see a shutdown, but because Congress needs hard deadlines to force everyone to the negotiating table. “I don’t want to see a shutdown, but there is no doubt in my mind, the country is headed for a shutdown and everyone should prepare as such.” Gonzales also had this to say about U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy , R-California, whose speakership is potentially at risk given his raucous caucus: “I wouldn’t bet on Kevin McCarthy, but I also wouldn’t bet against him.” Asked this weekend at TribFest by Texas Tribune Editor in Chief Sewell Chan whether McCarthy holds on to his speakership, Gonzales declined to answer. , R-California, whose speakership is potentially at risk given his raucous caucus: “I wouldn’t bet on Kevin McCarthy, but I also wouldn’t bet against him.” Asked this weekend at TribFest by Texas Tribune Editor in Chief whether McCarthy holds on to his speakership, Gonzales declined to answer. Immediately after Friday’s Blast went live, Republican state senators sent The Wall Street Journal a letter disputing a line from its recent editorial suggesting Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had lobbied senators to vote to acquit the attorney general. HIDDEN IMAGE Former state Sen. Bob Glasgow died Friday following a battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held tomorrow at First Baptist Church in Stephenville. died Friday following a battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held tomorrow at First Baptist Church in Stephenville. The Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance and friends are taking an electric vehicle convoy on the road to West Texas to educate the region about EVs. The caravan will visit San Angelo and Midland on Wednesday and hit Lubbock on Thursday. The convoy includes a Ford Mustang Mach E, a Tesla Model Y, a Hummer EV, an electric school bus and a Volvo C40 Pure Recharge Electric. TOMORROW: How is the Texas economy faring, and what can we expect the future to bring? Join us at 9 a.m. TOMORROW for a conversation about this moment in the markets and what it means for Texans, featuring Texas Tribune CEO Sonal Shah and Roberto Coronado, senior vice president and senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. There’s still time to There’s still time to RSVP and join us. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. HIDDEN AD HIDDEN IMAGE Austin-based data scientist John R. Eakin gives his take on the Olson dispute: HIDDEN IMAGE HIDDEN IMAGE (Sept. 25) State Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston (Sept. 26) State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, and state Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas SPONSOR MESSAGES TWU’s "Leading the Lone Star State: Texas Women in Public Service" conference brings together women elected, volunteering, working in or aspiring to public service roles. The event will be held Thursday, Oct. 12, in Denton, TX. Learn more and register here. 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