Mimi Swartz deep-dives the Paxton impeachment trial

Swartz shows in detail why she's still the queen bee of Texas political media. (I had originally headered the piece "Swartz goes behind the scenes," but there's really not a bunch of previously off the record dish now going on background. It's still good, but it's not the queen bee's knees, either. And, the Monthly's "inside story" header led me to expect more in the way of on-background dish.)

First takeaway? As of closing arguments, Tony Buzbee and others of Kenny Boy's team of legal beagles thought there was a good chance he'd be nailed on at least one charge. (Oh, contra the either lying or idiotic Drew Springer, impeachment at the Tex-ass as well as federal level is clearly a civil not criminal charge, so you either knew or should have known what standard of truth applied.)

Next, this, about Kenny Boy himself, his "user" mentality toward others, and his greater confidence than his legal team.

On neither day did the attorney general take much notice of his Senate loyalists swiveling in their hardwood chairs, nor did he appear to give even a wink or a nod, much less a chaste kiss, to the wife he had betrayed. Paxton’s expression—always a bit lopsided because of a damaged eye—was bland. He looked like a man waiting for a bus.

Can't write that up better.

Third is the total non-transparency of "total transparency" promiser Danny Goeb, of course. That starts with him hand-picking the committee to advise him on trial rules.

And his hypocrisy to go with.

Patrick also made clear that he wanted to get the trial over with pronto. He set it to commence roughly three months after the release of the rules, a compressed window that called to mind Patrick’s complaint that the House had rushed to impeach Paxton.

But I digress. I will add his unilateral decision to keep both Kenny Boy and mistress Laura Olson off the witness stand, rather than putting them there, if only to plead the Fifth, was horseshit.

From there, it's two trial strategies. Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin running this like a typical civil case trial, vs Buzbee blatantly appealing to the Mucus and Brad Parscale world of social media to pressure Senate Rethuglicans.

Meanwhile, Patrick disallowing certain information to be entered into evidence was more horseshit. At that point, I wonder why was Buzbee worried?

On the "no real dish"? Swarz says Patrick reportedly took two phone calls during Senate jury deliberations, from senators, but has no info on what they were about.

She does have some other leakage:

Bettencourt was also spotted the night before closing arguments at 24 Diner with senators Bob Hall and Donna Campbell, as well as three other Paxton loyalists, sharing a friendly dinner with supposedly undecided senator Charles Perry. “When they took Perry out to dinner, I started to be very concerned,” said one senator, who did not wish to be identified for fear of retaliation.

Again, not bad, but nothing earthshaking. (Perhaps, after Goeb is dead and buried, or ditto for Christofascist Tim Dunn) we'll get more. Or when Texas Democrats flip the Senate, but maybe not then, which will almost certainly not happen until Goeb is dead and buried anyway.