The Paxton trial has just begun and has had a few notable moments. Tuesday, Paxton's lawyers were unsuccessful in their attempt to dismiss any of the 16 charges.
Wednesday, Jeff Mateer, Paxton's #2 guy at the time, was accused of staging a coup when he informed the FBI of Paxton's misdeeds. On the vain side, Paxton's attorney, Tony Buzbee (who decided to run for Houston City Council during all of this) is upset the media supposedly photoshopped him to look so tan in images.
Yesterday, Ryan Bangert took the stand and stated that he was concerned that, in 2020, Paxton was hijacking the AG's office for the benefit of Nate Paul and his business, going so far as to hire outside counsel to look into Paul's claims that he was being targeted. Ryan Vassar, former Deputy AG, took the stand and teared up when confronted about Paxton calling him a rogue employee. Vassar testified about Paxton's desire to give Paul the FBI files about his case, which would have gone against precedent.
Paxton has noticeably been MIA from the trial. If you are interested in watching the trial, it is being broadcast here.
Also, CNBC reported that a Bitcoin mining company here in Texas, Riot Platforms, made $32M in energy credits in August by shutting down during tight grid power conditions. This is notable because RIOT is losing money as a business mining Bitcoin, but making money by not mining Bitcoin when the grid is stressed. Interesting business model in a state that can't keep the lights on.
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