Ken Paxton impeachment trial | Contentious, emotional testimony in Day 3 of trial

AUSTIN, Texas - There was dramatic, contentious and emotional testimony in the historic impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday.

Another former employee in the attorney general's office, who did not file a lawsuit, said he felt the office had been hijacked to help developer and Paxton donor Nate Paul.

MORE: Ken Paxton Impeachment

Ryan Bangert, the former deputy assistant attorney general under Paxton, testified the group who went to the FBI were not staging a "mutiny" as the defense has contended, but that they were wholly concerned.

"We were protecting the interest of the state and, ultimately I believe, protecting the interest of the attorney general and in my view signing our professional death warrant at the same time," Bangert said.

The assertion was challenged under cross-examination by Paxton attorney Anthony Osso Jr.

"At no point after you reported to law enforcement were you terminated from your position? It's a yes or no question Mr. Bangert, were you fired or not fired?" asked Osso.

[BANGERT: "I was constructively discharged."]

"No, I asked you whether you were fired or not fired, yes or no?" prodded Osso.

[BANGERT: I was constructively discharged."]

Bangert testified Paxton took him to a lunch meeting with Nate Paul, who complained about being treated unfairly and wanting the AG's office to intervene in his financial dispute with a non-profit foundation that invested millions in his Austin projects.

"The strong impression that I had developed was that I had been summoned to that meeting by Nate Paul to hear out his grievances and to convince me to get on board with the Mitte Foundation intervention," Bangert said.

All of this was happening while the attorney general's office was wrestling with much bigger issues, including a Google lawsuit and COVID.

"We were devoting far more resources to Nate Paul than we ever should have given the importance of those issues," testified Bangert.

One of those issues was COVID-related. Paxton pushed for a midnight order in August 2020 restricted the number of people attending outdoor foreclosure sales to 10 people.

Bangert said he was against it, later learning Nate Paul benefited because he had multiple properties in foreclosure.

"The attorney general was determined to harness the power of our office to fulfill the interest of a single individual against the interest of the state," Bangert testified.

The defense team pushed a hard line of questioning.

"You're here to testify in the court of impeachment. Do you not remember the day you went behind Ken Paxton's back to the FBI? Do you not remember that?" said Osso.

[BANGERT: "Sir, we did not go behind the Attorney General's back"]

"Did you tell Ken Paxton that you were going to go to the FBI?" questioned Osso.

[BANGERT: "On Sept. 30…"]

"It's a yes or no question Mr. Bangert," replied Osso.

[BANGERT: "It is not a yes or no question"]

The mood in the chamber-turned-courtroom changed as witness Ryan Vassar, former deputy attorney general for legal counsel, tried to hold his emotions as he talked about being called "rogue" by his boss Ken Paxton. 

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

U.S. Senator John Cornyn called the impeachment trial very deeply disturbing and painful to watch in a call with Texas media on Thursday.

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6:49 p.m. | The trial wraps for the day. Testimony is expected to continue at 9 a.m. tomorrow with Vassar back on the stand.

5:49 p.m. | The defense seizes on Vassar's concerns about being labeled a "co-conspirator." Vassar admits he had no evidence that Paxton had done anything illegal when they went to the FBI, but had "good faith beliefs" that a crime had occurred. 

5:04 p.m. | The prosecution passed the witness. The defense will question Vassar after a break.

5:02 p.m. | Vassar said he decided to sue Paxton and the State of Texas for his family and that he wanted to stand up for the truth.

4:58 p.m. | Vassar says that the whistleblowers feared that if they didn't step in Paxton's behavior would get worse and that they would be considered co-conspirators.

4:04 p.m. | Vassar said he laughed when he heard that the AG was pushing for an order to block foreclosure sales due to the COVID pandemic. Vassar said it was contrary to other COVID actions that had come from the office that year. He called it "odd," but not concerning at the time. Vassar said it was "even stranger" that they would have issued an opinion to help Nate Paul.

3:47 p.m. | Vassar said agrees with the prosecution's assertion that the releasing of records on Nate Paul could have potentially been dangerous.

3:19 p.m. | The trial is on break until 3:30 p.m. Watch highlights from the defense's interrogation of whistleblower Ryan Bangert:

3:03 p.m. | Vassar said he provided Paxton with records from Texas DPS concerning Paul and that FBI documents were included. Vassar said Paxton told him he did not trust law enforcement, especially FBI and DPS.

2:58 p.m. | Vassar testifies that Paxton told him that Paul was being "railroaded" by law enforcement and that they needed to find a way to release open records information that had been requested to be withheld.

2:51 p.m. | Vassar gets emotional on the stand when asked about being called a "rogue employee" by Paxton. Vassar says it is "contrary to the years that I dedicated myself to the state."

2:44 p.m. | Vassar said he oversaw the Open Records Divison for the Office of the Attorney General. It was in that capacity that he first heard of Nate Paul.

2:35 p.m. | Bangert's time on the stand is done. The prosecution calls Ryan Vassar. The former Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel. Vassar was one of 4 whistleblowers who filed a lawsuit against Paxton after being fired. The whistleblowers received a $3.3 million settlement. 

2:27 p.m. | The prosecution hands it back to the defense for re-cross.

1:45 p.m. | The defense passes Bangert back to the prosecution. 

1:39 p.m. | Things are getting heated. Bangert refuses to answer a question about if he told Paxton he was going to the FBI with a simple yes or no. Eventually, after multiple objections from the defense, he says he did not.

1:24 p.m. | The defense disputes the claim that going to the FBI was a "professional death warrant" as Bangert suggested earlier in the day. The defense says the Bangert had already applied for another job which he eventually got. Bangert said blowing the whistle ended his ability to work at the AG's office.

1:17 p.m. | Cross-examination continues with more questions about the foreclosure opinion. 

12:29 p.m. | The trial is now on a break it is expected to continue at 1:10 p.m.

12:18 p.m. | Watch the highlights from a morning of testimony by Bangert:

12:03 p.m. | The defense team argues that Paxton's foreclosure opinion could have helped people who were dealing with negative economic effects from the COVID pandemic. The prosecution has alleged that Paxton pushed the foreclosure opinion to assist Nate Paul and that the foreclosure opinion was contrary to the rest of the office's COVID policies.

11:15 a.m. | The prosecution rests. Now the defense is cross-examining Bangert.

11:13 a.m. | Bangert said he resigned. He called it "incredibly heartbreaking" because he had been a believer in Ken Paxton.

11:08 a.m. | Bangert is reading the text chain where the whistleblowers told Attorney General Paxton that they had gone to the FBI. 

10:49 a.m. | The trial is in a break. The prosecution says it only has a few minutes left with Bangert, then the defense will have an opportunity to take over.

10:37 a.m. | Bangert said they knew they were signing their "professional death warrant" by speaking out against Paxton. He says they tried to avoid it, but there was "no other choice."

10:34 a.m. | Bangert is reading text messages between OAG staff as they mulled what to do about Paxton's relationship with Nate Paul. 

10:25 a.m. | Bangert describes whistleblowers going to the FBI to express their concerns about Paxton's action. Bangert says he believed Paxton's actions on behalf of Paul was an abuse of office.

10:07 a.m. | Bangert testifies that the Attorney General was focusing on Nate Paul instead of a massive lawsuit the office had been preparing against Google.

9:22 a.m. | Bangert says that he went to lunch with Paxton and Paul in Austin. Paul explained his problems with the Mitte Foundation over the lunch. Bangert said that he felt he was brought to the lunch to get on board to the intervention. Bangert later says he told a colleague "that was the craziest thing I've ever seen."

9:18 a.m. | Bangert says that Paxton asked him to go to lunch with Nate Paul during his company's legal dispute with the Mitte Foundation. The State of Texas had intervened in the lawsuit and said a meeting would be "unethical."

9:14 a.m. | We are underway again. Former deputy first assistant attorney general Ryan Bangert is back on the stand.

9:09 a.m. | Last night, Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee claims a news organization doctored his image to make him look more tan.

9:01 a.m. | The trial begins with a prayer and Lt. Gov. Patrick immediately calls for a sidebar with attorneys.

8:13 a.m. | Testimony is expected to start at 9 a.m. on Thursday. The FOX Texas Trio broke down some of the key moments from the first two days of the trial here:

What to expect Thursday

Ryan Bangert, who served as the Deputy First Assistant Attorney General in 2020, first took the stand on at the end of the day on Wednesday.

Bangert is one of eight whistleblowers who spoke to law enforcement about Paxton's actions.

Much of Wednesday's testimony concerned efforts by Paxton to intervene into legal affairs concerning Nate Paul, a donor to the attorney general.

Bangert said that Paxton asked him to look into legal issues involving Paul three different times in six months. 

The former OAG employee said Paxton was acting like he had "a gun to his head" when discussing issues concerning Nate Paul.

"I was quite frankly sick of dealing with Nate Paul," Bangert said.

"So at this point, how would you characterize your feelings about whether the AG ought to be getting involved in anything that involved Nate Paul?" asked House Impeachment Prosecutor Rusty Hardin.

"My feelings were that I was becoming increasingly concerned," Bangert replied.

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.

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.