The Texas Senate has acquitted state Attorney General Ken Paxton of all impeachment articles brought against him, clearing him of charges related to corruption and unfitness for office.
Despite bipartisan support for impeachment, the votes to convict on each charge did not reach the required 21-vote threshold. Republican Senators Robert Nichols and Kelly Hancock joined all 12 Democrats in favor of conviction on several charges.
The Texas Senate convened on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Central Time to conduct the vote. The jury consisted of 30 senators, with most being Republicans. They spent approximately eight hours in closed-door deliberations after concluding the Senate’s proceedings. A two-thirds majority was needed to convict Paxton on any of the 16 articles of impeachment, which accused him of bribery, corruption, and unfitness for office.
The voting process was conducted publicly, with each article of impeachment receiving a separate vote. Given the 19-12 Republican majority in the Senate, all Democratic votes in favor of conviction required the support of nine Republicans. However, they secured only two Republican votes in favor of conviction.
Paxton had faced allegations that he misused his political authority to assist real estate developer Nate Paul, with opponents claiming that Paxton had accepted a bribe through his hiring of Paul.
During closing arguments, Republican state Rep. Andrew Murr, one of the impeachment managers in the Texas House, emphasized the importance of preventing public officials from abusing their office powers.
The impeachment prosecutors rested their case after a woman expected to testify about an extramarital affair with Paxton made an unexpected appearance at the trial but did not take the stand. The affair was central to the proceedings, as it was tied to accusations involving Nate Paul, who employed the woman, Laura Olson. One of the articles of impeachment alleged that Paul’s hiring of Olson constituted a bribe.
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Paxton’s defense portrayed the impeachment effort as a move by establishment Republicans to remove a proven conservative from office, highlighting Paxton’s history of challenging Democratic presidential administrations in high-profile court cases, which earned him praise from former President Donald Trump and conservative supporters. Throughout the trial, Paxton made only one appearance in the Senate during closing arguments, and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, attended but was barred from participating in the debate or voting on the outcome of her husband’s trial.
