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The Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of 16 articles of impeachment alleging corruption and bribery, his most ingenious escape in a career dedicated to courting controversy and dodging fallout from scandal.
Paxton was immediately reinstated to his elected position, ending a suspension that began in May with his impeachment by the state House.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement: The jury has spoken. Attorney General Ken Paxton received a fair trial as required by the Texas Constitution. I look forward to continuing to work with the Attorney General to secure the border and protect Texas from federal overreach.
No article received more than 14 of the 21 votes needed to convict. Only two of 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 impeached the attorney general. in May.
Paxton, who attended only two days of the trial and was not present to witness his exoneration, was characteristically defiant.
“The sham impeachment 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 stain. and permanent in the Texas House of Representatives,” Paxton said in a statement. “Using the impeachment process as a weapon to resolve political differences is not only wrong, but also immoral and corrupt.”
Elected last November for his third term in the Texas Prosecutor’s Office, he was one of the prosecutors who asked the Supreme Court in 2020 to revoke the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential elections in which he defeated Trump.
During his long political career he has been the protagonist of notorious controversies for having deceived investors in the sale of shares, having stolen a luxury pen or having escaped from his home to avoid being served with a court summons, among others.
The charges against Paxton in his impeachment trial
The impeachment trial was promoted by Republican legislators after years of controversy surrounding Paxton’s figure, but the state leadership of the party and conservative groups pushed for him to finally be acquitted.
The state House’s decision to initiate impeachment came after Paxton asked for $3.3 million to settle the lawsuit with four of his former aides who were fired shortly after they reported Paxton’s alleged misdeeds to the FBI.
Throughout the hearings, former aides to the attorney general gave details about how Paxton allegedly used his position to benefit his friend and real estate businessman Nate Paul, who in exchange paid for a renovation of his house and helped him cover up an extramarital affair with a former assistant.
House impeachment managers also alleged that Paul paid for renovations to Paxton’s home, particularly new cabinets and countertops, and showed that Paxton made a payment of more than $121,000 to a construction company associated with Paul. on October 1, 2020, a day after Paxton’s former employees reported him to the FBI.
The defense called the allegations “offensive” and “completely false.”
His wife, Angela Paxton, is a state senator for the Republican Party and attended all sessions of the impeachment trial, although she was not allowed to vote so that there was no conflict of interest.
In parallel with his impeachment trial in the Senate, Paxton is under investigation by the FBI for corruption, in addition to being accused of fraud since 2015.
Only two Texas officials had previously been impeached: a governor in 1917 and a district judge in 1976.
Keep reading:
– Justice Department takes over criminal corruption investigation against Texas attorney general
– Texas Attorney General reaches agreement with former aides who reported him to the FBI
– Texas Attorney General faces major fraud charges (VIDEO)