Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton raises money as he fights 'Kangaroo Court,' new filing shows

AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) -- In a new filing, Ken Paxton reports fundraising of more than $1.7 million in the last half of June. All of it was donated after the Texas House impeached Paxton on 20 charges. That kind of fundraising speaks volumes.

"One is that he has $1.7 million that he can direct toward his legal defenses," Baker Institute Fellow Mark Jones said. "Two: he has people backing him like the Wilkes brothers in Cisco and Tim Dunn in Midland, who have lots of money."

ABC News Political Director Rick Klein said this sort of fundraising is becoming the norm.

"There is a new normal that's developing," Klein said. "I think former President Trump is at the vanguard of this movement of using that status as an outcast, as a fundraising mechanism. And in some ways, it's not surprising that Ken Paxton will be raising money and that he'd be doing it successfully. It's easy to tap into anti-establishment resentments, conspiracy theories, and also just find people that are very loyal to someone who's down and out and kind of turn it around. And so, Ken Paxton is raising more money than ever even as he's more endangered than ever of losing his job."

As Paxton's trial approaches, beginning Sept. 5, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who will serve as the trial judge, has issued a gag order.

RELATED: Acting as Paxton impeachment judge, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issues sweeping gag order

Joe Jaworski, an attorney and former mayor of Galveston who ran for attorney general last year, has concerns about the politics of the trial but agrees the gag order was the right thing to do.

"I think it was appropriate, and it certainly is within the presiding judge's discretion. In this case, Dan Patrick, the president of the senate, I think it was probably a good idea for him to do that so that the lawyers know who's in charge," Jaworski said.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, agreed.

"Given the political stakes that are involved, this is certainly a kind of trial where you don't want to have people litigating this in the press. You want to have the evidence presented in a fair and honest way. You want to have it adjudicated by the senators," Rottinghaus said.

The trial will be a spectacle, with 31 senators acting as jurors. Twelve of them are Democrats and 19 are Republicans.

"Rather than having, you know, a neutral group of 12 citizens who have no interest in the case, you have the senators of Texas who have a very strong political interest in this case," Josh Blackman, a South Texas College of Law professor, said. "One of the jurors is Paxton's wife. She can't vote, but she still is present during the proceedings, which should be kind of awkward."

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