Why It Issues
In saying his alternative, Mr. Abbott cited Mr. Scott’s previous expertise as a former deputy legal professional basic who “is aware of how the Workplace of Legal professional Basic operates.”
Mr. Scott served as Mr. Abbott’s high deputy for civil litigation when the Republican governor served as legal professional basic earlier than changing into the state’s chief government in 2015. Mr. Scott additionally served on an interim foundation as Texas secretary of state, the chief elections officer appointed by the governor, for simply over a 12 months earlier than stepping down in December 2022.
“His decade of expertise and experience in litigation will assist information him whereas serving because the state’s high regulation enforcement officer,” Mr. Abbott mentioned. The governor’s assertion didn’t embrace Mr. Paxton’s identify or provide any feedback on the accusations towards him.
Mr. Scott, who has greater than three a long time of authorized expertise, additionally served because the chief working officer of the state’s Well being and Human Companies Fee.
In the course of the political turbulence following Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Donald Trump, Mr. Scott briefly represented the previous president in an unsuccessful lawsuit towards the certification of Pennsylvania’s vote after different attorneys stop. Mr. Scott himself stepped away from the litigation three days later, saying in a court docket submitting “that Plaintiffs shall be greatest served” by his withdrawal, in line with information accounts.
As Mr. Scott steps into the legal professional basic’s place, six high employees members have taken a go away of absence to assist defend Mr. Paxton within the upcoming impeachment trial, in line with studies in The Each day Wire web site and The Texas Tribune.
The staff embrace the workplace’s high appellate lawyer, Solicitor Basic Judd Stone, who served as a clerk to the U.S. Supreme Courtroom Justice Antonin Scalia and was later chief counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and the litigation chief Chris Hilton, who has made information lately by denouncing lawmakers’ strikes towards impeachment.
As secretary of state, Mr. Scott had a “shut working relationship” with Mr. Paxton and the legal professional basic’s workplace as a defendant in litigation towards the state’s voting legal guidelines, mentioned Sam Taylor, who served as assistant secretary of state for communications underneath Mr. Scott. “That was true no matter who the secretary was, together with John Scott,” Mr. Taylor mentioned.
What’s Subsequent
The Texas Senate, which is able to resolve whether or not to convict Mr. Paxton and take away him from workplace, adopted a decision this week that requires Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Senate’s presiding officer, to decide on a date “no later than” Aug. 28 to convene the court docket of impeachment. A seven-member Senate committee will put together really helpful guidelines of process for the trial to be submitted to the Senate on June 20.
The Home, serving because the equal of a grand jury, has named 12 impeachment managers to prosecute the case, together with the 5 members of the Home Basic Investigating Committee that carried out the once-secret investigation that led to the impeachment.