Not guilty: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton acquitted in impeachment trial

In a historic vote that will have long-term implications for the Texas GOP, state senators serving as jurors in Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial acquitted the attorney general on allegations of taking bribes and using his office to help an Austin businessman, resolving the first of several legal proceedings Paxton is facing.

The verdict, reached Saturday after a two-week trial in the Texas Senate, clears the way for Paxton, a three-term Republican, to return to the post he has used to advance an ultraconservative agenda that has brought national acclaim from far-right Republicans.

In a statement after his acquittal, Paxton said: "Today, the truth prevailed. The truth could not be buried by mudslinging politicians or their powerful benefactors. I've said many times: Seek the truth! And that is what was accomplished."

Live updates: Texas Senate finds AG Ken Paxton not guilty of all impeachment charges

Paxton, first elected as attorney general in 2014, had been suspended without pay since May 27, when in the final days of the legislative session the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to advance 20 impeachment articles after a monthslong secret investigation. Sixteen of the articles, those tried in the Senate, involved bribery and misuse of office in Paxton’s relationship with a campaign donor, prominent Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.

This impeachment trial, the first of a statewide office holder in Texas in more than a century, reverberated beyond the state and created infighting in the Texas Republican party after 60 of 83 House Republicans supported Paxton's impeachment.

More: Who are the key players in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial?

Late Wednesday, former President Donald Trump called for Paxton’s acquittal on the social media site Truth Social, accusing moderate Republicans of attempting to undo the results of last November’s election in which Paxton received more than 4 million votes.

“Who would replace Paxton, one of the TOUGHEST & BEST Attorney Generals in the country?” Trump wrote.

Paxton, who was mostly absent from the trial, announced in recent days that he had agreed to a sit-down interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to “discuss the last two weeks in Texas politics. It should be interesting!”

More: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fundraises off Trump's support amid impeachment trial

Many of the allegations against Paxton have been public since 2020 when eight former deputies in his office made a complaint against him to the FBI. Four of those aides then filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the agency, prompting the House investigation this year into a request by Paxton for the Legislature to fund a $3.3 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit.

The trial dripped of political influence, with Paxton’s supporters launching an online campaign against two unlikely allies they deem responsible: Democrats and flimsy conservatives labeled RINOs — Republicans in name only. In the lead up to the trial, Defend Texas Liberty, an ultraconservative political action committee, contributed $3 million to the campaign of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the trial’s judge. The group also promised political retaliation against House members who voted for impeachment.

During the trial, the former Paxton deputies testified that in 2020 Paxton repeatedly skirted established agency policies by intervening in Paul’s legal matters, including launching a counterattack against the FBI and other law enforcement agencies that were investigating Paul for possible financial crimes. Paul was later indicted on eight counts of mortgage fraud.

In response, Paxton’s defense lawyers presented evidence they say shows Paxton acted within his legal and statutory authority, and floated a broad conspiracy theory claiming the deputies were in cahoots with outside forces, including Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and one-time Paxton political opponent George P. Bush.

Whistleblowers, fraud and Nate Paul: A timeline of Texas AG Ken Paxton's impeachment trial

In legal circles, the trial was viewed as a battle between some of the state’s most decorated lawyers. Paxton’s defense team included Houston attorneys Tony Buzbee, a former Houston mayoral candidate and current City Council candidate in that city, and Dan Cogdell, a prominent lawyer who is also representing Paxton in a state securities fraud case. Joining them were Dallas lawyer Mitch Little and six lawyers from the attorney general’s office who took a leave of absence to assist Paxton, their boss.

Leading the prosecution were legal legends Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin, both from Houston, who between them have handled some of the biggest cases in over 100 combined years of lawyering.

Paxton, 60, did not attend the trial but for a brief appearance on opening day, Sept. 5, when Buzbee on Paxton’s behalf entered a not guilty plea on all counts with the attorney general standing nearby. Paxton then returned for closing arguments Friday.

The trial was similar to that of a criminal proceeding in that the standard for a conviction was beyond a reasonable doubt — the highest bar for guilt in Texas courts. It differed in that the senators did not have to come to a unanimous verdict. A conviction on any impeachment article required support from two-thirds of eligible senators, or 21 of 30 members. It also differed in that the verdict cannot be appealed.

Paxton’s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, was excluded from voting but was required to attend each day. Her removal from voting left the Senate jury with 18 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

Angela Paxton was spared an uncomfortable moment Wednesday when a woman with whom her husband reportedly had an affair arrived at the Capitol to testify but later was deemed “unavailable” after House prosecutors and the defense team agreed to keep her from taking the stand. That woman, a former Capitol staffer named Laura Olson, was central to a bribery allegation, as prosecutors say Paxton got her a job with Paul’s company. Had she testified, Olson was expected to invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Grumet: Paxton made Texans fear for their privacy, while keeping his personal life secret

Another bribery allegation involved a Paxton home remodel that prosecutors say was paid for by Paul and furnished by a contractor associated with Paul.

Now, with the impeachment trial over, Paxton moves on to other legal matters.

Arguably, the most serious pending action against Paxton is an ongoing federal investigation into his connection to Paul. In August, the American-Statesman reported that federal prosecutors in San Antonio seated a grand jury to consider such evidence. During the impeachment trial, Paxton’s former chief of staff, Missy Cary, testified that she provided testimony to a federal grand jury in 2021.

In a separate case, a judge in Houston overseeing Paxton’s 8-year-old felony securities fraud indictment recently told his lawyers and prosecutors to be ready for trial in February. That case, which accuses Paxton of procuring investments in a company without disclosing he was being paid to do so, is the basis of four impeachment articles that the Senate opted to hold in abeyance and address at a later time.

Paxton also faces two complaints with the Texas State Bar — one connected to the impeachment and the other for citing false evidence in challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election in four battleground states.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton acquitted in impeachment trial