Texas developer at the center of attorney general's impeachment pleads guilty to federal charge

AUSTIN, Texas — A real estate developer whose relationship with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was at the center of the Republican's historic impeachment trial in 2023 pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of lying to a financial institution.

The plea by Nate Paul, whose company is based in Texas, was entered before a U.S. magistrate judge and still must be reviewed by a district judge, court documents show. Records did not indicate when Paul might be sentenced.

Paul claimed that federal investigators acted improperly when they raided his Austin home in 2019. He later sought help from Paxton, and the relationship and dealings between the two men played a prominent role in lawmakers impeaching Paxton, who was later acquitted in the Senate.

Paxton has long denied wrongdoing and was not mentioned in federal indictments against Paul, which accused the developer of making false statements to banks in order to obtain more than $170 million in loans.

The Associated Press emailed a request for comment to federal prosecutors on Wednesday. Staff for Paul's attorney, Gerry Morris, said he would have no comment.

Paul would figure heavily in 20 articles of impeachment filed against Paxton, who was accused of abusing his power and bribery in order to help the developer, who gave the Republican a $25,000 campaign donation in 2018.

The impeachment came about after eight of the attorney general's top deputies reported him to the FBI in 2020. All were subsequently fired or quit and half the group later sued under the state’s whistleblower law.

Paul initially faced a dozen charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but online documents noted only the plea to the single charge of lying to a financial lender.