Ken Paxton impeachment trial | Ex-OAG director of law enforcement: 'Nate Paul was a criminal'

AUSTIN, Texas - Whistleblowers text messages and testimony from a former Texas Ranger, dominated the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton on Friday.

Paxton himself was not in attendance while his attorneys attempted to tear down previous testimony.

MORE: Ken Paxton Impeachment

David Maxwell, a former Texas Ranger who served as the Attorney General's law enforcement director testified what he told Ken Paxton after his first meeting with Paul.

"I told him Nate Paul was a criminal. He was running a Ponzi scheme that would rival Billy Sol Estes and that if he didn't get away from this individual and stop doing what he was doing he was going to get himself indicted," Maxwell said.

Maxwell said he had two meetings with Paul and his attorney that were recorded and a third meeting, that included Paxton, which was not recorded at Paxton's insistence.

Maxwell testified that Paul was angry, pressing for the AG's office to investigate DPS troopers, FBI agents and a federal judge in connection with search warrants at his business and home.

"I told him that all you're doing is using the power and the prestige of this office for your own purpose, and I'm not going to allow that," he said.

Maxwell said after that meeting Paxton never spoke to him again.

Two months later, he was placed on leave. A month after that, he was fired.

Earlier in the day, there was talk about a group text between AG office employees in the days after going to the FBI.

"You are insulting your colleagues on this group chat among friends, true?" said Paxton attorney J. Mitchell Little.

"I wouldn't describe it as insulting," responded Ryan Vassar, the OAG's former deputy for legal counsel.

Little read text messages from Vassar and other whistleblowers where they joked about Ken Paxton and other staff in the AG's office not being smart.

Vassar, who testified through tears Thursday at being called a "rogue employee," posted a link in the chat to a coloring book, suggesting new staff needed something to entertain them.

"It was a joke," Vassar said.

Little probed Vassar, saying if he was so upset by being called a rogue employee why was he joking around shortly after.

"Again, it was light-hearted. It was among friends. It was not made public to millions of people," said Vassar.

Little also tore at previous testimony that Nate Paul's issues overwhelmed the Attorney General's Office.

[LITTLE: "How many of those 20,000 cases involved Nate Paul?"]

"I have no direct knowledge of how many of those case would," said Vassar.

The cross-examination moved to the so-called Aug. 2 "midnight order" that restricted the number attending foreclosure sales. Nate Paul had 13 properties set to be sold Aug. 4.

Little pressed on whether it was just one of many COVID guidances being released almost daily.

"I'm not sure if it was daily, but we were providing advice on a daily basis," said Vassar.

Each side has been given 24 hours to present witnesses, evidence and cross-examination.

We are about halfway through the allotted time for testimony.

Then closing statements and jury deliberation should come mid-to-late next week.

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

4:45 p.m. | The trial is in recess until 9:00 a.m. Monday.

4:30 p.m. | Maxwell is dismissed. 

3:46 p.m. | Despite several attempts from the defense Maxwell is standing firm on his belief that Nate Paul and his lawyer committed a crime by asking for an investigation into law enforcement's treatment of Paul.

3:13 p.m. | Here are the highlights from the prosecution's questioning of Maxwell.

3:00 p.m. | Defense lawyer Dan Cogdell says that Maxwell looking into the investigation into Nate Paul is similar to Mickey Mantle being asked to investigate the New York Yankees.

2:28 p.m. | The defense brings out the search warrant for Nate Paul's home. There is a break so Maxwell can read it.

2:04 p.m. | Maxwell says it was important to him to get his firing changed to an honorable discharge. "I did nothing wrong by standing up for right." The prosecution passes the witness.

2:03 p.m. | Maxwell says when Paxton fired him "he ended my career." Maxwell had spent 48 years in law enforcement.

1:56 p.m. | Maxwell said that he reported Paxton to Texas DPS and was then placed on investigative leave.

1:52 p.m. | Maxwell describes a heated meeting between himself Paul and Paxton. He said Paul became angry after Maxwell criticized him for falsely claiming the Texas AG's office was investigating an FBI raid on Paul. Maxwell said that Paxton had sided with Paul.

1:29 p.m. | Maxwell details a meeting he had with Paxton where he said that Paul was a "criminal" and he would get Paxton indicted.

1:21 p.m. | Maxwell calls allegations made by Nate Paul about a federal search "absolutely ludicrous, without merit, no probable cause, not even reason to believe that a crime had been committed." Maxwell later called them "conspiracy theories."

1:14 p.m. | Maxwell said in his opinion "Nate Paul was a criminal, and we should not be associated with Nate Paul."

1:07 p.m. | David Maxwell, the former OAG director of law enforcement, takes the stand. He is another of the 4 whistleblowers who sued Paxton and the state, eventually receiving a $3.3 million settlement.

12:00 p.m. | Testimony for the morning ends with the defense presenting an argument saying that the sale of Paul's property was blocked by something other than the COVID guidance.

11:57 a.m. | Vassar testifies it is a "lie" that they removed Paxton's name from office letterhead.

11:45 a.m. | The prosecution is now pushing back against the defense's argument that the whistleblowers did not have evidence that Attorney General Paxton committed a crime. Vassar testifies "I believed that I was witness to criminal activity that had occurred by General Paxton."

11:39 a.m. | Vassar said he reviewed documents that said Paul's lawyer used the COVID guidance letter from the AG's office in a push to stop a foreclosure sale shortly after it was issued.

11:33 a.m. | The defense passes the witness. Now it is back to the prosecution.

11:31 a.m. | The defense says the AG's office was responding to several COVID changes, and it led to several informal orders.

11:22 a.m. | Vassar is now being questioned about COVID-related orders. The defense brings other orders that were issued on the weekend.

11:16 a.m. | An earlier statement by Vassar is catching people's attention. He brings up a blacklist in the Office of the Attorney General for reporters who would be treated "differently." The Dallas Morning News' Lauren McGaughy is said to be one of the reporters on the list.

10:53 a.m. | Little asks if Nate Paul had such a "stranglehold" on the AG's office that no other work could be done. Vassar said he can't answer say yes or no. Little responds, "you can't say yes." Vassar had said that at least 15 lawyers had to deal with Paul.

10:46 a.m. | The defense brings up the OAG letterhead without Paxton's name on it. Vassar denies that Paxton's name was removed, but rather that the office had multiple agency letterhead.

10:39 a.m. | "No coincidences in Austin" makes another appearance. Paxton's lawyers have brought it up multiple times in the trial. The thread seems to tie back to Bush-era Republicans attacks on Paxton. George P. Bush challenged Paxton in the Republican primary, but Paxton won.

10:33 a.m. | Little asks Vassar about the whistleblower's lawyer, Johnny Sutton. Vassar says he has not paid Sutton for his work. Sutton has been brought up several times by the defense over the course of the trial.

10:18 a.m. | We are back. The questioning has focused on text messages in the days and weeks after Vassar went to the FBI. In the exchange, Ryan Vangert on Oct. 2 says "let the media feeding frenzy begin."

9:30 a.m. | Lt. Gov. Patrick calls for a 30-minute break early in the testimony. He did not give a reason for doing so.

9:14 a.m. | The defense goes after Vassar's emotional testimony about how he felt about being called a "rogue employee," which caused him to break down on the stand Thursday. A group text among employees at the OAG included photos of memes and comments on the appearance of the whistleblowers in news articles.

9:04 a.m. | GOP chairman Matt Rinaldi shares his breakdown of takeaways from the trial so far.

9:00 a.m. | The Senators are heading into the chamber. Day 4 is about to get underway.

8:30 a.m. | The impeachment trial is expected to go back into session at 9 a.m. In the meantime, check out a breakdown of Day 3.

What to Expect on Friday

Vassar, who is one of the 4 whistleblowers to receive a $3.3 million settlement in a lawsuit against Paxton and the state, is expected to be back on the stand after testifying for hours on Thursday.

Vassar got emotional on the stand Thursday when asked about Ken Paxton referring to whistleblower as rogue employees.

"It's contrary, the statement of being rogue is contrary to the years I dedicated my life to the state," said Vassar.

Vassar also testified that he and the other whistleblowers felt they had to go to the FBI or Paxton's actions would get "more extreme."

He also noted that they were afraid they would eventually be named as co-conspirators in the attorney general's alleged crimes.

The defense got aggressive in their questioning of Vassar late in the day.

Lawyers for Paxton questioned whether Vassar had any evidence of a crime being committed when he went to the FBI.

"We took no evidence," Vassar said.

Vassar said he had "good faith beliefs that a crime had occurred" and that they were the complainants, not the investigators.

The trial is expected to last for a couple of weeks.

21 Texas Senators must vote to convict Paxton to remove him from office. If all 12 Democrat Senators vote to convict, at least nine Republicans have to join them.

If Paxton is removed from office the Senate will then take another vote to potentially bar him from holding elected office in Texas again.

That would also require the vote of 21 state senators to pass.