Eric Gay/AP
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted on most charges on Saturday, and had the few remaining charges against him dismissed.
The Texas Senate voted against 16 out of the 20 impeachment charges over the weekend, and dismissed the remaining four that were being held for a later date.
21 senators had to agree that the House proved all the elements of the article beyond a reasonable doubt for Paxton to be convicted and removed from office. To acquit, only 10 Senators needed to think the House failed to meet its burden of proof. Paxton’s wife, who is currently a State Senator in McKinney, was not permitted to vote on any of the articles.
Most Senate Republicans voted to acquit Paxton on all charges, while just two, Republican Senators, Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) and Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville), sided with Democrats on a majority of the articles.
Article 1 accused Paxton of wrongfully pressuring the Office of the Attorney General to intervene in a lawsuit between the Mitte Foundation and Nate Paul, a Paxton donor, at the center of many of the allegations. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 2 accused Paxton of wrongfully ordering the issuance of legal guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic that could have prevented foreclosure sales from proceeding in an attempt to benefit Paul, who had several properties about to be auctioned off. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 3 alleged that Paxton abused the open records process by issuing a wrong opinion on a request by Paul, who was attempting to obtain records related to law enforcement raids at his properties. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 4 claimed Paxton made a copy of documents Paul was trying to obtain and illegally provided them to Paul. The final vote was two in favor of sustaining the article and 28 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 5 alleged that Paxton violated the law by hiring Brandon Cammack as outside counsel for the OAG to investigate claims by Paul of misconduct by the state and federal law enforcement officials who ordered and executed the raids on his properties. The final vote was 13 in favor of sustaining the article and 17 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 6 said that Paxton unlawfully fired OAG staff who reported him to the FBI on the “good faith belief” the he had acted criminally in his treatment of Nate Paul. Several of the whistleblowers were in the room, watching the vote from the gallery. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 7 accused Paxton of misapplying OAG resources by having the agency conduct an internal investigation in response to the whistleblowers’ claims of misconduct. The investigation lasted several months and produced a lengthy report that claimed to clear Paxton and the OAG of wrongdoing. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 8 alleged that Paxton only entered into a settlement agreement with several of the whistleblowers in order to forestall disclosure in the lawsuit and prevent the discovery of facts until after the 2022 election. The final vote was eight in favor of sustaining the article and 22 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 9 claimed Nate Paul employed Laura Olsen, Paxton’s mistress, for the sole purpose of providing a benefit to Paxton in exchange for the legal assistance described in the other articles. The final vote was 12 in favor of sustaining the article and 18 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 10 accused Paul of paying for home renovations in Paxton’s Austin residence in exchange for beneficial treatment. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Articles 11, 12, 13, and 14 relate to an ongoing securities fraud case and were being held for a later date, although the Senate voted 19-11 to dismiss those charges.
Article 15 claimed that Paxton forced staffers to make false statements in the OAG report on the whistleblower allegations for the purpose of exonerating him of wrongdoing. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 16, which was more of a catch-all, alleged he conspired with other people to commit the acts in the previous articles. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 17 accused him of misusing public resources by causing OAG staff to “perform services for his benefit and the benefit of others.” The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 18 accused General Paxton of dereliction of duty and of generally acting against the public interest. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 19 claimed Paxton engaged in public or private behavior that displayed a character unfit for public office. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Article 20 said Paxton was guilty of subverting the lawful operation of government and brought the OAG into scandal and disrepute. The final vote was 14 in favor of sustaining the article and 16 against, resulting in an acquittal.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, blasted the State House on Saturday after the conclusion of the trial and after remaining silent on the impeachment hearing, claiming that he wanted to be as impartial as possible.
“It feels important to set the full record straight on this trial,” he said, torching the way the House approached Paxton’s impeachment.
Patrick accused the Speaker and his team of ramming “through the first impeachment of a statewide-elected official in Texas in over 100 years while paying no attention to the precedent,” and for rushing through an impeachment despite members having just hours to consider the articles.
Patrick went on to call for constitutional reforms to prevent such an incident from happening again, and to change the rule that requires that “All officers against whom articles of impeachment may be preferred shall be suspended from the exercise of the duties of their office, during the pendency of such impeachment”, as well as calling on House members to be given a minimum of two weeks to consider any charges.
“We owe it to future legislatures to make these changes so that no future official impeached by the House, whether Republican, Democrat, or independent, is subjected to the way this impeachment process occurred,” he continued.
“Millions of taxpayers dollars have been wasted on this impeachment,” Patrick explained. “I will call for a full audit.”
“An impeachment should never happen again in the House like it happened this year,” the veteran statesman declared. “Our founders expected better.”
“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 Office of Attorney General and left a dark and permanent stain on the Texas House,” Paxton said in a statement. “The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt.”
Paxton went on to pledge to continue to fight the Biden administration and told the administration to ‘Buckle up’.
“Finally, I can promise the Biden Administration the following: buckle up because your lawless policies will not go unchallenged,” the statement read. “We will not allow you to shred the constitution and infringe on the rights of Texans. You will be held accountable.”
