Patrick issues gag order ahead of trial

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CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

Gary Borders

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick last week issued a sweeping gag order ahead of the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Houston Chronicle reported, saying “out-of-court statements” by both sides threaten to jeopardize the trial.
The trial is set to begin Sept. 5.
The gag order prohibits members of the Senate and House, their staffs, witnesses and attorneys from making statements that could have a “substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the trial.” Violators could be found in contempt of court and face up to six months in jail and up to $500 in fines.
Patrick is acting as the judge in the impeachment trial. The gag order was required under the impeachment rules established by the Senate in June.
Meanwhile, Paxton has asked that three Democratic state senators be disqualified, saying their public statements prove they cannot be impartial, The Dallas Morning News reported. Paxton is targeting Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, and Sens. Roland Gutierrez and José Menéndez, D-San Antonio.
“Senators Menendez, Gutierrez, and Johnson’s own public statements convincingly establish bias and prejudice against the Attorney General,” the motion states. “That cannot be cured.”
In a related matter, conservative activist Dr. Steven Hotze has sued Patrick and the Senate to allow Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, the suspended attorney general’s wife, to participate in the trial’s deliberations and vote on her husband’s fate. The Senate rules for the trial disqualified her from participating.
A&M president resigns following botched hiring
Texas A&M University President M. Katherine Banks resigned last week after the faculty senate moved to investigate the botched hiring of journalist Kathleen McElroy to revive the university’s journalism program, The News reported.
“The recent challenges regarding Dr. McElroy have made it clear to me that I must retire immediately,” Banks wrote in her resignation letter submitted late Thursday. “The negative press is a distraction from the wonderful work being done here.”
McElroy, a 1981 A&M graduate, elected to remain a tenured professor of journalism at the University of Texas in Austin after the original offer for a tenure-track position at A&M was reduced to a one-year contract. The university received criticism from some people my concerning McElroy’s work on diversity and equity issues while working in multiple roles at The New York Times.
Mark A. Welsh III, dean of A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service, is now acting president of the university.