On cross examination, Paxton’s defense attorney launched into whistleblower Ryan Vassar for bringing no physical evidence when he and others reported their boss to the FBI. Vassar said he was a witness and not an investigator.
Former deputy attorney general for legal counsel Ryan Vassar answers a question during cross examination on the fourth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxtons impeachment trial Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Austin.
Vassar said he meant physical evidence, and Hardin asserted that Vassar going to the FBI was inherently a form of evidence because he was a witness to a potential crime. Vassar had previously disputed the premise of the line of questioning — that the whistleblowers would be expected to bring evidence to the FBI to report their concerns. But his “no evidence” comment quickly took on a life of its own, giving pro-Paxton forces an opening after a trial that began Tuesday with a barrage of setbacks as senators rejected all of Paxton’s pretrial motions to dismiss the articles of impeachment.
On Friday, Vassar began clarifying the comment, first under more questioning from Little and then under examination by Hardin. Vassar said he meant the whistleblowers took no “documentary evidence” to the FBI, and Hardin coaxed Vassar to say he was providing a form of evidence by presenting himself as a witness to potential crime.
Vassar was the third witness to testify in the historic trial. All of the witnesses so far have been called by House impeachment lawyers and all three were whistleblowers who reported Paxton to the FBI. Two of the witnesses were among the whistleblowers who also filed a lawsuit accusing Paxton of firing them in retaliation.
“It was lighthearted,” Vassar said, “It was among friends. It was not made public to millions of people.”
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