Ken Paxton impeachment trial | Outside lawyer says he was fired by Paxton team, was not paid for work

AUSTIN, Texas - The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton got underway on Tuesday with a young lawyer at the center of much of the controversy on the stand.

Brandon Cammack was five years out of law school and had about 75 clients with 15 to 20 jury trials under his belt when he got a phone call in August 2020 from Attorney General Paxton.

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He testified that Paxton communicated with him through an app called Signal, used for encrypted communications.

Cammack said he did everything at the direction of Paxton over six weeks that would change his life.

"The only person I reported to was Mr. Paxton at his direction," he testified.

Cammack was brought in as outside counsel to the state's top law enforcer.

He testified that he was excited in his first meeting with Attorney General Paxton.

"He said he was interviewing multiple people for the position for the position and that his own staff would not work on what he wanted them to work on," said Cammack.

What Paxton wanted was work on complaints brought to him by his real estate developer friend and campaign contributor Nate Paul who believed he had been treated unfairly by federal and state law enforcement.

Cammack got the job, but did not have a contract, when he met with Nate Paul and his attorney Michael Wynne on Sept. 4 2020.

Cammack testified that he found Paul convincing.

"If what he's showing me on how the search warrant was altered is true, this is a big deal," said Cammack.

He began working on the complaint Nate Paul made. Then, he received a second referral to investigate civil litigation in bankruptcy court.

"I spoke with Mr. Paxton about my referral because I wasn't sure if the scope of my contract covered that, and so he said that it did, and I said well, I'm going to rise to the occasion and I'm going to figure this out," Cammack said.

The lawyer testified he constantly asked for credentials, a badge, an email, something to prove he was working as a special prosecutor for the Attorney General's Office, but never got that.

Cammack began preparing subpoenas in both cases, emailing some and delivering others to financial institutions in person. He said Nate Paul's attorney insisted on going with him.

As a sign of the conflict between Paxton and his own staff when subpoenas were delivered Cammack received cease and desist letters from none other than the Attorney General's Office and a visit by U.S. Marshals.

He testified the first time he had a contract signed by Paxton was Sept. 29, given to him by Nate Paul's attorney and that he attended a meeting after that at Paul's house with his attorney and Paxton, but he still had not been paid.

In early October, Cammack met with Paxton and others at an Austin Starbucks.

Cammack asked about getting paid and was told by the AG's new first assistant Brent Webster that the contract signed by Paxton was no good.

"I think I ballparked it, I said what about my $14,000 invoice and [Webster] was like, you're going to have to eat that invoice. I've had to eat $40,000 invoices," Cammack testified.

While the prosecutors are trying to prove certain elements of the articles of impeachments.

The defense wants the jurors to see others.

Lots of bad things may have happened to Brandon Cammack's practice over those six weeks in 2020, but the questions still remain: Did Paxton commit any crimes and are there impeachable offenses?

You can watch complete coverage of the trial on FOX4News.com and FOX 4's YouTube channel.

Large portions of the trial will also be available on FOX LOCAL along with highlights and analysis.

Live Blog

7:13 p.m. | McCarty is excused. Here are some of the key moments from his questioning by prosecutors.

7:03 p.m. | Dick DeGuerin reads Impeachment Article I to McCarty. He testifies that he believes that to be true.

6:54 p.m. | Buzbee brings up messages from Paul and his lawyer complaining about a potential conflict of interest within the Attorney General's office.

6:38 p.m. | Buzbee brings up a lawsuit from Greg Abbott's time as attorney general against the Mitte Foundation. Buzbee says the foundation has a "long and sordid history."

6:35 p.m. | Defense attorney Tony Buzbee is now performing cross-examination.

6:26 p.m. | McCarty said he was retaliated against after going to the FBI.

6:18 p.m. | McCarty says the OAG's actions against the Mitte Foundation were unethical and made the State of Texas look badly.

6:11 p.m. | When McCarty pushed back on appearing in court, Paxton offered to do it himself. McCarty said he was able to talk Paxton out of it.

6:06 p.m. | McCarty said Paxton asked for him specifically to get directly involved into the Mitte Foundation case.

6:04 p.m. | McCarty testifies that Paxton called the Mitte Foundation's efforts were overly zealous and was siding with World Class Properties.

5:55 p.m. | McCarty said he was asked to look into the Mitte Foundation lawsuit at a time when the state was leading a massive investigation into Google, which eventually led to a lawsuit.

5:25 p.m. | McCarty testified that the case first got on his radar after a meeting with Attorney General Paxton who "showed a high level of interest" in the case and insisted on intervening.

5:19 p.m. | McCarty is being questioned about the lawsuit between the Mitte Foundation and Nate Paul's World Class Properties. McCarty's role with the OAG included overseeing lawsuits involving charities.

5:10 p.m. | Darren McCarty, the former deputy attorney general over civil litigation, now takes the stand. He should be the last witness of the day.

5:06 p.m. | The defense argues that Amplify Credit Union did not lose a dime because the properties were still sold. Garrison is now dismissed.

5:01 p.m. | Garrison testifies that he did not know how the AG's order affected foreclosures in Collin County, only how it impacted Amplify Credit Union.

4:43 p.m. | Brown is dismissed quickly. Amplify Credit Union CEO Kendall Garrison was called to the stand. He said Amplify had loans for three Paul properties which were set to be sold in foreclosure. He testified that he received an email from Paul with a link to an Attorney General's order barring gatherings for foreclosure sales. Garrison said that Amplify then opted not to sell the properties. The CEO testified that Paul benefited directly from the AG's order. 

4:17 p.m. | Brown said "red flags were going off" when he was talking to Paxton about a potential investigation into Paul's claims.

4:15 p.m. | The House managers call attorney Joe Brown to the stand. Brown was interviewed to investigate Paul's claims before Brandon Cammack was hired.

4:07 p.m. | Cammack says he has made no money for his work with the AG's office. Cogdell apologizes for the lack of payment, but reinforces Paxton's statement that he wanted Cammack to "find the truth."

4:02 p.m. | Cammack repeats that he felt like the "rug was pulled out from under him" when he received a cease and desist letters from the OAG. 

3:47 p.m. | Cammack says he met with Paxton a total of 5 times along with short phone calls and messages.

3:15 p.m. | The trial is now on break. Watch more key moments from Cammack's testimony so far.

3:05 p.m. | Cammack testifies that he believed subpoenas were the most discreet way possible to obtain the information he was after. Cogdell says it is the opposite of the testimony from many in the AG's office.

3:01 p.m. | Cogdell says that Cammack was just investigating, something the defense has argued many in the OAG did not do. 

2:48 p.m. | Cammack testifies that he never got any pushback from the OAG until he received a cease and desist letter from Mark Penley. Members of the attorney general's office have testified saying they were unaware that Cammack was investigating the case until after subpoenas were issued.

2:39 p.m. | Defense lawyer Dan Cogdell reads Impeachment Article V which concerns Cammack. The lawyer denies actively working to benefit Nate Paul or his business entities. Cammack did testify earlier that Paul's lawyer gave him the names of people to be subpoenaed.

2:23 p.m. | Cammack said he had a third meeting with Paxton and Brent Webster, now the first assistant attorney general of Texas, where they terminated his contract, told him he would not be paid and then nearly left him at the coffee shop.

2:19 p.m. | Cammack met with Paxton a second time shortly after. He said he felt his name had been dragged through the mud.

2:16 p.m. | Cammack said he felt like he had the rug pulled out from under him and met with Nate Paul, Paul's lawyer and Paxton.

2:06 p.m. | Cammack said he received a cease and desist letter from Mark Penley after issuing the subpoenas. When the US Marshals showed up at his office he called Paxton who told him not to talk until he had a lawyer present.

1:58 p.m. | Cammack testifies that he took Nate Paul's lawyer with him to serve subpoenas. Cammack said he was not aware that there was a statute prohibiting an interested party from serving subpeonas.

1:54 p.m. | Cammack testifies that he did not know that some of the individuals he was subpoenaing were representing entities suing Paul.

1:51 p.m. | Cammack is talking about issuing subpoenas on behalf of the OAG. It was the first time that many in the office were made aware that Cammack was investigating Paul's claims. Cammack says that he got information about whom to subpoena from Paul's lawyer.

1:33 p.m. | Cammack testifies that Nate Paul's lawyer sent him information regularly that was helpful in investigating Paul's complaint.

1:23 p.m. | After a break the trial is back underway.

12:00 p.m. | The trial is now on break until 1 p.m. Here are the highlights from morning testimony:

11:45 a.m. | Cammack said he was passing along information about documents that he acquired and other updates to the Attorney General throughout his investigation.

11:22 a.m. | Cammack testified that he suggested the grand jury subpoenas to Paxton as a way to info about the Nate Paul case. Paxton okayed the idea, according to Cammack.

11:15 a.m. | Cammack said that Paxton asked to communicate with him on the Signal app, a non-official email address and that he used two different cell phone numbers to talk to Cammack. The lawyer said he did not know about the Attorney General's official email address until he received a cease and desist letter from Jeff Mateer. Cammack said he had a separate phone number for calls from the Attorney General.

11:13 a.m. | Cammack learned that Mark Penley, the former Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice, had asked Paul's lawyer for documents. When he asked Paxton about the request the AG told Cammack, "Penley is not working on this case anymore. You are."

10:56 a.m. | Cammack was also referred to a case of mortgage fraud in bankruptcy court involving Paul, which he believed that was outside of the scope of his original contract. Cammack testified that he asked Paxton about the scope and Paxton said that it was included in his contract. Cammack said he thought he would "rise to the occasion." 

10:53 a.m. | Cammack said he never believed he was working for the Travis County District Attorney's Office. He believed he was working for the AG's Office and that he reported directly to Paxton. 

10:44 a.m. | Cammack said he was "fired up" after hearing from Paul and that he was excited to work with the Attorney General's Office.

10:38 a.m. | Cammack said after his hiring he met with Nate Paul who discussed the search of his home. Cammack said Paul talked the majority of the time. Cammack said he believed in Paul's argument enough to investigate, but had not developed enough of an opinion to know one way or the other. Cammack said he told Paxton that Paul's argument about a search warrant for his home being changed was "convincing."

10:31 a.m. | Cammack testifies that Paxton told him that his own staff would not work on what he wanted them to work on.

10:26 a.m. | Cammack says Nate Paul's lawyer called him to tell him Paxton was trying to contact him. Paxton then told Cammack that Paul's lawyer had suggested him. Cammack said he was "excited" to do work for the AG's office.

10:17 a.m. | Brandon Cammack takes the stand. Cammack has been much discussed in the trial so far. He was hired by Paxton to investigate claims made by donor Nate Paul when members of the AG's office did not do so to Paxton's liking. The hiring of Cammack and subpoenas issued by him on behalf of the OAG concerned many members of Paxton's staff.

10:11 a.m. | Patrick says the delay was due to issues raised by both the House managers and the defense. He did not give further detail. He immediately calls both sides to the bench.

10:08 a.m. | Rudy knows best. Lt. Gov. Patrick enters the chamber and we are about to get underway.

10:06 a.m. | FOX 7's Rudy Koski says it appears the trial is about to begin. The Senate floor is still pretty empty.

10:00 a.m. | The delay has now reached an hour. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has not been seen on the Senate floor today. We don't know which witness the House managers are planning to call.

9:31 a.m. | The delay continues. State Senator Angela Paxton tweets a bible verse this morning after her husband's affair was brought up in testimony on Monday. 

9:07 a.m. | After multiple days of punctual start times there is a delay at the start of today's proceedings. No reason has been given at this time. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he expected today's testimony to go until 7 p.m.

8:40 a.m. | Testimony is expected to continue at 9 a.m. Here is a recap of Monday's testimony:

Original Story

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said he expects the Senators to begin deliberations by Thursday afternoon or Friday.

Senators will be kept in Austin until a decision is made on removing Paxton from office and potentially barring him from holding state office from life.

The House managers have 9 more hours with witness. The respondents have 12 hours.

Both sides will then have an hour for closing arguments.

READ MORE: Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial | Whistleblower: AG pushed for donor's 'insane' theories

On Monday, several witnesses took the stand.

Mark Penley, the former deputy over criminal justice for the Office of the Attorney General, took the stand first.

Penley said he and former AG Law Enforcement Director David Maxwell, who testified Friday, decided to "slow-walk" the investigation into claims made by Paxton donor Nate Paul, hoping Paxton would drop it because he thought Paul's claims were "crazy."

Paul believed that there was a massive conspiracy between federal and state officials in the investigation against him.

Missy Cary talked about Paxton's affair, which House managers believe Paul helped facilitate.

State Senator Angela Paxton sat taking notes while Cary discussed the meeting the attorney general and senator held with OAG staff confirming the affair.

Cary said she later discovered that the affair continued.

Gregg Cox and Margaret Moore from the Travis County District Attorney's Office also testified Monday.

The House managers have not indicated who will they will call to the stand next.