'Breaking Bad,' Laura Olson: Key takeaways from Day 7 of Ken Paxton's impeachment trial

Day 7 of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial resembled a cross between a seesaw and the hurry-up-and-wait mantra that has long been a staple of government action at every level.

At the start of Day 7 on Wednesday, the impeachment managers seeking to convince at least 21 of the 30 voting members of the Texas Senate to bounce the three-term Republican from office appeared to score points when a self-acknowledged friend and former aide-turned surrogate son testified about concerns that his boss had been compromised by a campaign donor.

Then it appeared that many of those points were pulled off the board when the ex-aide, Andrew Wicker, had little firsthand knowledge about the concerns he had testified to.

The hurry-up-and-wait aspect was multifaceted. Part of it was due to backroom negotiations about what additional evidence could be admitted, and the anticipation of testimony that had been scheduled but never happened.

Waiting for Laura Olson, the woman said to be Paxton's mistress

Wednesday's action on the floor of the Texas Senate, where the trial is being held, started with a bombshell. The impeachment managers called to the witness stand Laura Olson, who during the trial and in some news accounts has been reported to having had an extramarital affair with Paxton.

But before she entered the Senate chamber, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, in his role as the impeachment court judge, said Olson would not be eligible to testify until nearly 4 p.m. because of a rule that one side must give the other a 24-hour heads-up on any witness who might be called. The impeachment manager's notice on Olson fell well short of that window.

Olson, a one-time aide to a sitting senator, spent much of her time waiting to called at a table in the Capitol's Legislative Reference Library, which is just a short walk from the Senate chamber. Approached by a reporter or two, Olson was polite but firm that she'd have nothing to say before her expected appearance at the trial.

Several people who appeared to be Olson's friends or associates came and went, sometimes chatting quietly (it is a library, after all) or reading some of the hundreds of printed material within easy reach.

About 30 minutes after Olson was finally eligible to take the witness stand, Patrick dropped a second bombshell: Olson "is present but unavailable to testify." Reporters in the gallery checked with one another to make sure they had heard correctly. So, too, at least one senator who asked Patrick to repeat the statement.

Patrick did so, but offered little amplification, other than both sides had agreed Olson was "unavailable."

The phrase 'breaking bad' was mentioned, but it was not a metaphor

One of the witnesses who testified was a lawyer who represents the nonprofit Mitte Foundation.

The nonprofit is connected to an impeachment charge, which accuses Paxton of having disregarded his duties by trying to use his office to intervene in a lawsuit between the Mitte Foundation and Austin developer Nate Paul, a Paxton friend and campaign donor. Paxton's attorneys have contended that because of the foundation's past legal difficulties, the attorney general's office was justified in stepping in.

Ray Chester, the attorney for the foundation, testified that it has been "squeaky clean" since 2011 and that it is presently overseen by R.J. Mitte, an actor known for his role on television's "Breaking Bad."

According to Mitte's IMDB page, "Mitte was cast as Walt White Jr., a series regular, and character with cerebral palsy on AMC Network's Breaking Bad (2008). And though Mitte has a mild case of the same condition, he had to do what all actors do: research the character and even relearn many of the challenges he had endured as a child in order to convey a more pronounced version of CP."

Impeachment manager was napping when he rested his side's case

When impeachment managers' lawyer Rusty Hardin finished questioning his final witness, he apparently mistakenly rested the prosecution's case.

Only trouble was that Paxton's lawyers had not yet had the chance to cross examine. Hardin quickly realized he jumped the gun and tried to unrest his case. Patrick wouldn't let him.

That gave Paxton lawyer Tony Buzbee the opportunity to offer what is known as a motion for a "directed verdict," which basically says the prosecutors fell short of their burden to prove Paxton was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and the trial should end without the need for a defense.

That motion ignited a scramble. The senators left the chamber and huddled in secret. Reporters were getting ready to file all-new stories in the event that the trial came to a crashing halt. Spectators in the gallery scrambled to understand what had just happened, and what might come next.

Yet one more round of hurry-up-and-wait.

And wait was what everyone did. Until the senators returned. Then, as abruptly as Buzbee offered his motion, he withdrew it. So did the prosecution with its plans for a counter-motion.

The defense was about to call its first witness with the clock standing at 6:25 p.m. Then, even more hurry-up-and-wait. But the wait, as it turned out, wasn't that long. Patrick pulled the plug on Day 7 and served notice that Day 8 would start at 9 a.m. Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Surprises and plot twists mark Day 7 of Paxton impeachment trial