Texas Senate Acquits Attorney General Ken Paxton On All Charges
On Saturday, the Texas Senate voted to acquit suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton of all charges against him in the controversial impeachment trial that began in the state House back in May.
Paxton had been on trial in the Texas Senate for the past two weeks over allegations of corruption and abuse of public office — with the House team responsible for prosecuting the case claiming that the Republican attorney general had done favors for Austin real estate developer and campaign backer Nate Paul while he was being investigated by the FBI.
The impeachment managers claimed that the attorney general had accepted bribes from Paul, one of which was supposedly an agreement to hire his alleged mistress, Laura Olson. Paul also supposedly renovated Paxton’s house in exchange for the attorney general allegedly aiding Paul when he was under investigation by the FBI.
Meanwhile, conservatives allege that the true reason behind the impeachment is that Paxton was actually “effective” as an attorney general — going against the Biden administration and the RINO (Republican In Name Only) establishment in Texas.
Paxton was tried on 16 articles of impeachment in the Senate, which each required a two-thirds majority to pass in the Republican-controlled chamber. He was defended by attorney Tony Buzbee — and was ultimately not convicted on any of the charges.
In a statement about the trial, Buzbee argued that the case against Paxton was purely political.
“This is a political trial,” the attorney told the Associated Press. “I would suggest to you it’s a political witch hunt.”
Paxton has also released a statement following his acquittal, which he shared in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Today, the truth prevailed,” he began. “The truth could not be buried by mudslinging politicians or their powerful benefactors.”
“I thank the 4.2 million Texans who voted for me last year,” Paxton continued. “I will always be grateful for your support, and I will continue to honor your vote by defending the rule of law and our constitutional rights. I’m also grateful for the state senators who followed the law and refused to overturn an election. I also thank my legal team for exposing the absurdity of these false allegations. Most importantly, I want to thank my amazing wife Angela, who I love dearly. She is a brave woman of deep faith, unquestionable integrity, and the light of our entire family.”
He went on to call out the “sham impeachment” — arguing that it was “coordinated by the Biden administration” and “liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan,” who is technically a Republican but has sided with the Democrats on numerous occasions including in his repeated targeting of Paxton.
Paxton slammed Phelan for the “kangaroo court” that “has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Office of Attorney General and left a dark and permanent stain of the Texas House.”
“The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt,” he wrote. “Now that this shameful process is over, my work to defend our constitutional rights will resume.”
“Finally, I can promise the Biden administration the following: buckle up because your lawless policies will not go unchallenged,” Paxton warned. “We will not allow you to shred the constitution and infringe on the rights of Texans. You will be held accountable.”
He concluded his letter by announcing that he would be addressing the nation on Tucker Carlson’s show next week.
Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick (R) also spoke out about the trial as he reinstated Paxton into office, ordering a full audit of the House proceedings and shredding the House’s impeachment process.
