The Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of 16 impeachment charges on corruption and bribery charges, his most brilliant escape in a career that has involved battling controversy and dodging the fallout from scandal.
No article received more than 14 of the 21 votes needed for conviction. Only two of the 19 Republican senators, Bob Nichols of Jacksonville and Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills, voted to convict on either article, a stark contrast to the more than 70% of House Republicans who voted to impeach him in May Attorney General initiated.
Paxton, who only attended two days of the trial and was not present to witness his exoneration, was typically defiant.
“The sham impeachment process coordinated by the Biden administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his Kangaroo Court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Attorney General’s Office, and left a dark and lasting stain on the Texas House of Representatives,” Paxton said. in one sentence. “Using impeachment as a weapon to resolve political differences is not only wrong, but also immoral and corrupt.”
The dramatic votes capped a two-week trial in which a number of witnesses, including former top Paxton officials, testified that the attorney general repeatedly abused his office by assisting his friend, Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, in investigating and harassing her helped enemies. , delay the foreclosure sale of his properties and obtain confidential documents from the police investigating him. In return, House impeachment managers said Paul paid for renovations to Paxton’s Austin home and helped him carry out and cover up an extramarital affair with a former Senate aide.
In the end, the senators were not convinced.
“This should never have happened,” Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, told reporters outside the chamber. He criticized what he called a rushed and flawed House investigation.
But an acquittal was not a given during the eight-hour deliberations, said Senator Royce West. The Dallas Democrat said some Republicans supported the conviction but changed their votes when it became clear they did not have the required two-thirds majority.
The acquittal verdicts immediately returned Paxton to office and lifted the automatic suspension that had been triggered by the House’s vote to impeach him in May. The votes sealed the failure of a risky tactic by House Republicans, who secretly began investigating and then purging a leader of their own party in the spring.
And they came after sustained pressure on senators from grassroots groups, conservative activists and the state Republican Party chairman, who promised retaliation at the polls if Paxton was found guilty.
Paxton’s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, was present to witness his acquittal. Forced to attend but unable to advise or vote due to her relationship with the defendant, she listened stone-faced during the trial as several witnesses testified about the attorney general’s infidelity and his 2018 testimony to his wife and top brass. Consultants exposed it as a lie and the matter was definitely settled.
After the acquittal, she hugged her husband’s lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, and shook hands with the defense team.
The vote lasted more than an hour in the Senate chamber, which was largely silent except for the chirping of the crickets that had recently infested the Capitol. The impeachment managers in the House of Representatives watched grimly as each of the articles they had meticulously prepared were defeated, one of them by a majority of 28-2.
Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano, who risked his standing in the Republican Party Friday by giving an impassioned speech urging conviction, sat with his hands folded over his face.
The Senate also voted 19-11 to dismiss the four remaining counts of impeachment that the chamber agreed to quash before the trial. These articles addressed Paxton’s long-running securities fraud case, which is expected to go to trial early next year.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, fulfilling his role as an impartial judge, criticized the House and its leaders for bringing the case in the first place, which he said wasted millions of taxpayer dollars. He criticized the House of Representatives for voting to impeach Paxton after just three days of deliberation.
“With 150 members having virtually no time to study the articles, the Speaker and his team achieved the first impeachment of a public official in more than 100 years,” Patrick said.
Despite the victory, Paxton’s problems are far from solved. He faces a 2015 securities fraud trial.
More dangerous for Paxton is a federal investigation that began when the attorney general’s top aides reported him to the FBI in 2020, accusing him of crimes consistent with the charges in the impeachment trial. This case went to a grand jury in San Antonio. There is much more at stake in a new indictment than in an impeachment trial. Working to stay in office is one thing; The fight to stay out of prison is something else entirely.
No article received more than 14 of the 21 votes needed for conviction. Only two of the 19 Republican senators, Bob Nichols of Jacksonville and Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills, voted to convict on either article, a stark contrast to the more than 70% of House Republicans who voted to impeach him in May Attorney General initiated.
Paxton, who only attended two days of the trial and was not present to witness his exoneration, was typically defiant.
“The sham impeachment process coordinated by the Biden administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his Kangaroo Court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Attorney General’s Office, and left a dark and lasting stain on the Texas House of Representatives,” Paxton said. in one sentence. “Using impeachment as a weapon to resolve political differences is not only wrong, but also immoral and corrupt.”
The dramatic votes capped a two-week trial in which a number of witnesses, including former top Paxton officials, testified that the attorney general repeatedly abused his office by helping his friend, Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, investigate to initiate and harass their enemies. , delay the foreclosure sale of his properties and obtain confidential documents from the police investigating him. In return, House impeachment managers said Paul paid for renovations to Paxton’s Austin home and helped him carry out and cover up an extramarital affair with a former Senate aide.
In the end, the senators were not convinced.
“This should never have happened,” Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, told reporters outside the chamber. He criticized what he called a rushed and flawed House investigation.
But an acquittal was not a given during the eight-hour deliberations, said Senator Royce West. The Dallas Democrat said some Republicans supported the conviction but changed their votes when it became clear they did not have the required two-thirds majority.
The acquittal verdicts immediately restored Paxton to office and lifted the automatic suspension that had been triggered by the House’s vote to impeach him in May. The votes sealed the failure of a risky tactic by House Republicans, who secretly began investigating and then purging a leader of their own party in the spring.
And they came after sustained pressure on senators from grassroots groups, conservative activists and the state Republican Party chairman, who promised retaliation at the polls if Paxton was found guilty.
Paxton’s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, was present to witness his acquittal. Forced to attend but unable to advise or vote due to her relationship with the defendant, she listened stone-faced during the trial as several witnesses testified about the attorney general’s infidelity and his 2018 testimony to his wife and top brass. Consultants exposed it as a lie and the matter was definitely settled.
After the acquittal, she hugged her husband’s lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, and shook hands with the defense team.
The vote lasted more than an hour in the Senate chamber, which was largely silent except for the chirping of the crickets that had recently infested the Capitol. The impeachment managers in the House of Representatives watched grimly as each of the articles they had meticulously prepared were defeated, one of them by a majority of 28-2.
Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano, who risked his standing in the Republican Party Friday by giving an impassioned speech urging conviction, sat with his hands folded over his face.
The Senate also voted 19-11 to dismiss the four remaining counts of impeachment that the chamber agreed to quash before the trial. These articles addressed Paxton’s long-running securities fraud case, which is expected to go to trial early next year.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, fulfilling his role as an impartial judge, criticized the House and its leaders for bringing the case in the first place, which he said wasted millions of taxpayer dollars. He criticized the House of Representatives for voting to impeach Paxton after just three days of deliberation.
“With 150 members having virtually no time to study the articles, the Speaker and his team achieved the first impeachment of a public official in more than 100 years,” Patrick said.
Despite the victory, Paxton’s problems are far from solved. He faces a 2015 securities fraud trial.
More dangerous for Paxton is a federal investigation that began when the attorney general’s top aides reported him to the FBI in 2020, accusing him of crimes consistent with the impeachment charges. This case went to a grand jury in San Antonio. There is much more at stake in a new indictment than in an impeachment trial. Working to stay in office is one thing; The fight to stay out of prison is something else entirely.
