3 Things To Know Today

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1 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Won't Have To Testify

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pleaded not guilty to all 20 articles of impeachment issued against him by an overwhelming vote of the state House of Representatives during the first day of his Senate trial yesterday. Paxton’s attorneys had filed more than a dozen motions to dismiss the articles of impeachment or exclude evidence from the proceedings, but all failed as 12 Republican senators joined the Democratic senators in the Senate jury to vote them down. There was one piece of good news for the accused, as Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who’s presiding over the trial, ruled that Paxton couldn’t be forced to testify. More than 100 potential witnesses have received subpoenas for the trial, including George P. Bush and Karl Rove. The defense is trying to position the first impeachment trial of an attorney general in the state’s history as an effort to overturn the will of voters, who reelected Paxton to office in 2022. Paxton is accused of a list of offenses that include accepting bribes and abuse of office. Asked about the trial, president of the Bulverde Spring Branch Conservative Republicans Kaci Sisk said, “We don’t care; we don’t care. We elected him knowing everything,” then added, “He is the best attorney general that we have ever had.”

2 New Images Show That Escaped Murderer Has Slipped Through Police Perimeter

The search continues for escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante who broke free from a Pennsylvania prison last week. Authorities admitted yesterday that pictures taken by a trail camera inside Longwood Gardens, just south of the area police thought he was contained within, proved that he had slipped through the perimeter. Lt. Col. George Bevins of the Pennsylvania State Police said at a press conference yesterday that it wasn’t shocking that Cavalcante had slipped through, as the area is densely wooded. “You’re dealing with someone who is desperate and doesn’t want to get caught,” Bevins said, adding “He needs to be in custody and we’re determined to capture him.” In addition to broadcasting messages recorded by his mother in Portuguese pleading with Cavalcante to surrender, the U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture. Two school districts in the expanded search area canceled classes yesterday as a precaution while the search continues. Cavalcante was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, 38-year-old Deborah Brandao, stabbing her 38 times in front of her two young children after she learned that he was wanted for murder in his native Brazil and threatened to turn him in to the police. Cavalcante escaped from the Chester County Prison on Thursday.

3 Alex Murdaugh Wants A New Trial, Says Court Clerk Tampered With The Jury

Attorneys for convicted killer Alex Murdaugh are looking for a new trial for their client. Murdaugh was convicted in March by a jury of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul in 2021. In a court filing yesterday, his legal team alleged that the Colleton County Clerk of Court, Rebecca Hill, violated Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial before an impartial jury to profit from the case. Attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian are requesting an evidentiary hearing that would give them subpoena powers so they can request phone records, gain access to emails, and speak to witnesses, with the goal being a new trial for their client. As evidence that Hill was looking to profit from the case, the lawyers pointed to her self-published book “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders” which was published in July, and as of last night was the number-one selling book on Amazon in the “Biographies of White Collar Crime” and “Criminal Law” categories , and ranked number 845 on the entire site.


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