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AUSTIN — The star witness swept into the Texas Capitol on Wednesday, red coat and flashy Balenciaga-emblazoned handbag tucked under her arms, her white sheath, red lipstick and signature platinum pixie all a dramatic contrast from the somber-suited individuals who have testified for the past week in the historic impeachment trial of state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Until Laura Olson, it had mostly been former Paxton staffers and law-enforcement-turned-whistleblowers on the stand in the Senate, recounting the actions that led to him being charged with bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of office. Olson served a different role in his life: former mistress.

Her testimony for the prosecution was much anticipated, perhaps more than that of anyone other than wealthy Austin developer Nate Paul — a Paxton donor — who allegedly hired her to help the attorney general continue the affair. Paul has still not made an appearance in the trial.

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But after hours of uncertainty as Olson’s lawyer sought to have her subpoena quashed, the defense got a victory. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick ruled that she would not have to take the stand, announcing that the witness “has been deemed unavailable to testify.” She had no comment as she left the Capitol.

Paxton has not been seen in the Senate chamber since he entered a not guilty plea on day one, though his wife of more than 35 years, Sen. Angela Paxton, has been ever-present. The Republican lawmaker was seated for the trial but prohibited from voting on the outcome. A conviction will need the support of two-thirds of the 31 senators — 19 of whom are Republicans.

Senators are expected to vote Thursday morning on a prosecution motion that seeks to ban Paxton, 60, from holding public office in Texas if he is convicted on any of the 16 articles of impeachment. A verdict could be reached before the weekend.

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One of those articles involves Olson and how she came to be working for Paul — in exchange for Paxton aiding the developer, the bribe that is part of a web of malfeasance, according to the lawyers arguing the case against the attorney general.

“Your honor, there’s no evidence of a conspiracy, this is silly,” Paxton’s lead lawyer, Tony Buzbee, countered Wednesday.

Prosecutor Erin Epley disagreed.

“Your honor, this whole trial has been about a conspiracy,” she said.

Paxton, a three-term incumbent reelected last year, has been among the state’s most prominent allies of former president Donald Trump. A former representative and senator, he is only the third official to be impeached since Texas became a state in 1845.

Few from his inner circle have been called to testify. Olson arrived with her attorney in the morning, entering the Capitol rotunda and ducking into a restroom where she traded red, kitten-heel mules for tan pumps. Because of procedural rules, she would have to wait until the afternoon to testify, which only heightened the suspense of what she might say if her lawyer’s attempt to quash her subpoena were unsuccessful.

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Throughout the day, she was seen roaming the Capitol. She spent some time in the Legislative Reference Library, just down the hall from the trial.

Her mere presence in the building caused a stir. The Senate gallery was the fullest since the start of the trial, with about half the seats occupied. That was the most since the trial’s opening day. One woman watched through binoculars.

Yet all were disappointed. Just minutes before 5 p.m., Patrick announced his decision. He said both sides had agreed to it. In a text a short time later, Olson’s attorney elaborated the slightest bit. “We have been excused from the proceedings,” Mary Stillinger said.

Olson has kept a low profile of late, not granting interviews, responding to emails or calls seeking comment and making her social media accounts private. But certain details are known.

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According to her LinkedIn profile, which she took down earlier this year, the four-times-divorced mother of two previously worked as district director for Sen. Donna Campbell (R) in San Antonio. Pictures previously posted on Facebook showed she belonged to a local conservative group, Bexar County Republican Women, and appeared at events where she was photographed with fellow Republicans Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott.

Olson’s affair with Paxton began in 2018, according to whistleblower court filings, the Texas House impeachment investigation and testimony by several former Paxton staffers. Per records that prosecutors filed as evidence on Wednesday, those individuals described how their boss used two burner phones, encrypted messages on the Signal app and an Uber account using the pseudonym “Dave P.” that showed a dozen trips to Olson’s home from August to October 2020.

Paxton’s former chief of staff, Katherine “Missy” Cary, testified this week that he initially refused to identify Olson when she confronted him with a photo in 2018. He then claimed Olson was his real estate agent. Cary testified to later seeing Olson at an attorneys general conference in San Antonio wearing a name tag.

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Before the year ended, she said, Paxton convened a staff meeting with his teary wife, where the couple held hands as he confessed to the affair and insisted it was over. It wasn’t, Cary testified.

Paxton’s security and travel staff later complained to her that they were having to cover for him when his wife phoned asking his whereabouts. When she shared her concerns with Paxton in 2019, she said he insisted that he “still loved” Olson, grew red in the face, shouted and “stormed out.”

Another staffer testified Wednesday that he saw Paxton with Olson in 2020 at an Austin hotel where Paxton had been staying while his home was renovated.

Buzbee attempted to separate Paxton’s affair with Olson from alleged wrongdoing.

“Just because somebody has an affair doesn’t mean they’re a criminal, does it?” he said while cross-examining Cary.

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The defense lawyer also suggested to senators that if they were to convict Paxton, some of them could face similar scrutiny.

“Imagine if we impeached everyone in Austin who had had an affair,” he said. “We’d be impeaching for the next 100 years.”

The prosecution rested its case by day’s end. After some legal motions, the defense got underway. And as both did, Paxton posted online that he would head to Maine next week to sit down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, to “discuss the last two weeks in Texas politics. It should be interesting!”

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