Talarico Scores Plug from Paxton Lawyer
for Impeachment and Prior Criminal Case
Capitol Inside
June 8, 2026
One of the leading lawyers on Attorney General Ken Paxton's defense team for his impeachment trial pitched his support to Democrat James Talarico on Monday for an open U.S. Senate race that could could crack the GOP's hold on power in Washington D.C.
With the Texas GOP Convention set for this week in Houston, Paxton impeachment attorney Dan Cogdell stole the thunder when he issued an endorsement to Talarico based on the belief that he has the best chance to bridge a bitter and growing divide in America with a campaign that appeals to voters outside his own party's base.
Cogdell - one of the most successful criminal lawyers in Texas since the 1980s - explained his position in the Senate fight in a 43-second video that was portrayed as a conversation with the Austin state representative who's the Democratic nominee for the federal post this fall.
“I defended Ken Paxton for years in the impeachment trial and in state criminal cases," Cogdell said. "But in my view, respectfully, I think Ken has lost sight of his core mission, which is to represent the people of Texas.
"And unlike Ken, I believe to my core, James, that you believe in unity over division and that you know how to assemble not only Democrats but Independents and Republicans and we need that right now," Cogdell added. "We need that right now. We need it more than in my lifetime - and I'm old as dirt."
But Cogdell's endorsement of Talarico may not come as a surprise to Governor Greg Abbott, who the Houston lawyer accused of lying last year after signing on as an attorney for the developers for the proposed Muslim community EPIC City.
Abbott has been leading a crusade to block the development amid MAGA fears of an invasion by Islamic radicals. Paxton has sued the development group amid allegations of securities fraud and financial misconduct. Cogdell - ironically - defended the attorney general against felony criminal charges alleging securities fraud in the early stages of his stint as the state's top lawyer.
"To have people who are of a different faith than some folks to be basically terrorized because of false information put out by the governor is an insult," Cogdell said after taking the case last spring. "It's a shame, and it needs to stop."
Cogdell went to work for legendary Houston attorney Richard "Racehorse" Haynes shortly after his graduation from the South Texas College of Law. Cogdell went out on his own in the late 1980s - and has been involved in scores of high-profile cases ever since. Cogdell secured the only acquittal in a string or criminal trials stemming from the collapse of Enron.
Cogdell represented a member of the Branch Davidian cult in the deadly standoff with federal authorities in Waco in the 1990s. Cogdell was portrayed by Hollywood star Giovanni Ribisi in Waco: The Aftermath, a five-part series on Paramount+ in 2023.
After representing Paxton against criminal charges, Cogdell was one of the impeachment team's two most prominent members along with Tony Buzbee. GOP State Rep. Mitch Little of Lewisville had a significant role as well in Paxton's defense, which ended with his acquittal in a Texas Senate trial over which Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick presided as the judge.
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