Great news: the Texas Senate has officially voted to acquit Attorney General ken Paxton on all articles of impeachment! Lt. Gov Dan Patrick proclaimed the trial to be both a waste of time and resources that should’ve never happened in the first place after what turned out to be a lengthy trial with extended deliberations.
The vote is seen as both a victory for Paxton, but also an end to what has been described and “partisan witch hunt” within the Republican Party in Texas.
20 articles of impeachment were presented against Paxton for charges including constitutional bribery, disregard of official duty and misapplication of public resources.
At the heart of these accusations was his relationship with real estate developer Nate Paul who had donated campaign funds to him.
It was alleged that he used his position as attorney general to benefit Paul in return for covering up an affair and paying for renovations done on Paxton’s Austin home.
Of these 20 articles only 16 were discussed during trial while 4 remained held in abeyance.
Despite these allegations being leveled against him from within his own party, it appears they could not be substantiated in any way during court proceedings leading to the acquittal vote by senators.
While many Republicans saw this case as nothing more than a political witch-hunt against their own party member – Rep Jeff Leach had a very different take when delivering his closing statements before votes were casted.
He went on record saying that voting against Paxton wasn’t easy due to their close friendship and political mentorship over years prior.
Yet at some point even those closest connections need to be set aside if there is evidence pointing towards corruption or illegal activity which seemed lacking here according to most reports from inside the courtroom.
The hearings lasted over eight days long involving more than 12 witnesses combined including whistleblowers, former personal assistant and chief staff members of Paxton’s office.
Despite having been acquitted on all 16 articles presented during trial, Paxton still remains under federal investigation with an upcoming securities fraud hearing.
