AUSTIN –
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted of all charges on Saturday in a landmark impeachment trial that left Republicans divided over whether to remove a powerful supporter of former President Donald Trump after years of scandal and criminal charges.
The verdict reaffirmed Paxton’s steadfastness in America’s biggest red state and is a broader victory for the hard right in Texas after an extraordinary trial that exposed fissures within the national Republican Party as the 2024 elections acquitted and served alongside Senate Republicans his wife, Senator Angela Paxton.
Angela Paxton was not allowed to vote. But she attended the two-week trial, including the reading of the verdict, where all but two of her fellow Republican senators consistently voted to acquit her husband of the 16 impeachment counts accusing him of misconduct, bribery and corruption.
Ken Paxton, who was absent for most of the trial, did not attend the sentencing but issued a triumphant statement immediately afterward sharply criticizing his Republican rivals who had challenged him in the Texas House of Representatives in May.
“Today the truth prevailed. The truth could not be buried by politicians or their powerful patrons,” Paxton said. “I have said it many times: seek the truth! And that’s exactly what we achieved.”
The Senate also voted to dismiss four counts of impeachment that were not discussed in the trial. This paves the way for Paxton to regain his role as Texas’ top lawyer, more than three months after his surprise ouster in the Texas House of Representatives forced him to temporarily leave office.
The result doesn’t nearly solve Paxton’s problems. He still faces federal charges of securities fraud, a separate FBI investigation remains ongoing, and he is at risk of losing his ability to practice law in Texas for his baseless attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
