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Brandon Bell

AUSTIN — After a historic 10-day trial, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday by the state Senate on 16 charges of bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of office. He was immediately reinstated, ending a suspension that began in May with his impeachment by the state House.

The verdict could propel the conservative Republican’s political future at home and potentially on the national stage.

Senators had deliberated in private for more than eight hours before returning to the chamber to individually declare their decision in public on a form and then by voice. The process took about an hour and a half, the “yea” and “nay” votes being sounded over and over. Many resulted in the same 14-16 margin, with only two Republicans siding with the dozen Democrats; 21 votes were required for conviction.

Paxton, 60, was not present for any of it. But in a statement issued not long after, he said that “the truth prevailed. The truth could not be buried by mudslinging politicians or their powerful benefactors.” He again blasted the “sham impeachment” and said such “weaponization” of the process “to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt.”

The charges against him centered on his effort to obtain $3.3 million in state funding to settle a lawsuit by senior aides. Some of those aides had become whistleblowers, so distressed by his interactions with wealthy Austin developer Nate Paul that they reported their boss to the FBI. Several testified for the prosecution, and they were in the gallery on Saturday to hear the senators’ verdict.

It’s unclear what Paxton’s acquittal means for that pending civil litigation. The several whistleblowers who brought it declined to comment through their attorney on Saturday.

One political observer said the acquittal showed how much some Texas Republicans have unified after the divisiveness that resulted in Paxton’s impeachment.

“It’s a demonstration of unity that we haven’t seen in a while,” said Jim Henson, who directs the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. “You have an example of somebody who has successfully fought the system in the face of pretty strong evidence. It will be emboldening to people.”

At the same time, the outcome also highlighted “the deep antipathy” between the House and the Senate — despite Republicans dominating in each.

Recriminations began within the party immediately after the last vote. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presided over the trial, excoriated his counterparts in the House for pushing the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05/27/texas-impeachment-paxton-attorney-general-vote/" target=_blank>impeachment investigation</a> and called for an audit of House spending on it.

“Millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted,” he said, adding that the state constitution should be amended to prevent “this flawed process” from being repeated in the future.

“Our founders expected better,” Patrick continued. “It should have never happened this year and hopefully, it doesn’t again.”

That elicited strong pushback from House Speaker Dade Phelan. He didn’t just express disappointment that the attorney general wasn’t going to be held accountable for “corruption, deception and self-dealing.” He went much further, accusing Patrick of bias and contempt.

“The inescapable conclusion is that today’s outcome appears to have been orchestrated from the start, cheating the people of Texas of justice,” Phelan said.

The two GOP lawmakers who voted with Democrats avoided talking to reporters. Sen. Robert Nichols’s office was locked, and no one answered the door or office phone. Kelly Hancock changed quickly in his office before rushing out to his car and refusing comment. A statement subsequently released by his office noted his “constitutional obligation to seek the truth based on the facts made available …”

By then, both already had been targeted by conservative activists like Luke Macias and labeled RINO, the derisive acronym slung at those who are considered “Republican in name only.” An email that Macias sent to his newsletter subscribers said to “get ready to go after all of the RINO’s who tried to un-elect your Attorney General.”

From the other side of the aisle, though, Sen. Nathan Johnson praised both for courage. The Democrat said there were “a handful” of GOP senators who could have voted to convict Paxton, particularly if they knew others would, but “political pressure carried the day.” Johnson said he was “disgusted” by the acquittal.

“Because this case was tried to the Republican base and not tried to a jury, what we had here was a political catastrophe and collapse,” he said.

Eric Gay

Paxton’s trial started Sept. 5, less than a year after the attorney general was reelected by a large margin to his third term — helped in no small part by the endorsement of former president <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Donald Trump</a>.

Prosecutors argued that the attorney general had turned his powerful office over to Paul and that the developer was using it to go after his enemies. But the defense team slammed the proceeding as a political witch hunt orchestrated by Paxton’s rivals. His conservative backers amplified that claim both in and outside of Texas.

In recent days, Trump surrogates and allies had pressured Republican senators not to impeach Paxton, posting names and phone numbers of potential impeachment swing voters and urging Paxton supporters to phone their offices. The attorney general got a big shout-out Saturday afternoon when Trump congratulated him on his Truth Social platform, praising “a great and historic Texas sized VICTORY.”

The prosecution called 15 people to the stand during the trial, compared with just four called by the defense. Each side had 27 hours to make opening and closing arguments, present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.

Paxton did not testify and in fact was absent for all but <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/09/05/texas-ken-paxton-impeachment-trial/" target=_blank>the very start </a>and end of the trial.

The deliberations were rife with potential conflicts of interest. Paxton’s career includes a decade in the Texas House and two years in the Senate, serving in the seat that his wife now holds, so he knows many of its members. One was caught up in the articles of impeachment: Sen. Bryan Hughes (R), accused of helping Paxton exploit his office to aid Paul, who in turn hired a woman with whom Paxton was having an affair. The woman, Laura Olson, later worked for Sen. Donna Campbell (R).

Republican Sen. Angela Paxton attended the trial but was barred from voting on the charges her husband faced. She was again in the chamber on Saturday, and as the counting progressed, she smiled at colleagues. After tracking the count on each charge, Paxton took off her reading glasses and rested her chin on her hand. Her online message in the midafternoon quoted from the Book of James: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

Initially, Ken Paxton faced 20 charges. The Senate’s impeachment rules committee set aside four involving his private business dealings that House investigators alleged were obstruction of justice and false statements in official records. Before adjourning, senators voted to dismiss all of them.

Separately, Paxton is still contending with felony securities fraud charges — he was indicted months after he took office as attorney general in 2015 — but that case has languished as lawyers have fought over where he should be tried. A hearing is scheduled in Houston on Oct. 6.

State Rep. Ann Johnson, a Democrat who served as vice chair of the House’s prosecution team, expressed concern that Ken Paxton will remain in office.

“We presented overwhelming evidence that Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in the state of Texas at this time. And Republicans in the Texas Senate just returned him to the office of the top cop,” Johnson said. “God help us.”

A previous version of this article said former president Donald Trump congratulated the Texas attorney general online on X. He did so on his platform Truth Social. The article has been corrected. 

Eva Ruth Moravec

2018 APME International Perspective

2015 Overseas Press Club

2013 DART Award

2012 Livingston Finalist

Harvard College, BA Social Studies, 1999

Molly Hennessy-Fiske joined The Post in 2022 as a national reporter based in Texas covering breaking news and red states.

Molly Hennessy-Fiske

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Impeachment Trial Of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Comes To A Close

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