Texas attorney general acquitted during impeachment trial – JURIST

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton resumed office Saturday after being acquitted on all 16 charges in his impeachment trial.

Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives in May 2023 after allegations that he had made legal decisions specifically to benefit a real-estate developer, Nate Paul, with whom he had personal connections and had fired whistleblowers who had threatened to reveal this information. The House voted to impeach Paxton in a vote of 121 to 23.

The vote then moved to the Texas Senate, where Paxton’s wife, Angela Paxton, currently serves as a Senator. Angela Paxton attended the impeachment trial but abstained from the vote.

In a public statement on X, Paxton responded to the impeachment proceedings:

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.

The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt…. Finally,  I can promise the Biden Administration the following: buckle up because your lawless policies will not go unchallenged. We will not allow you to shred the constitution and infringe on the rights of Texas. You will be held accountable.

Members of the Texas Senate also took to X to release statements after the trial results were finalized, both praising the outcome of the trial and criticizing the House for impeaching Paxton so close to the end of the legislative session.

Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan released a statement of his own following the verdict, defending the House’s decision to impeach:

I extend my utmost thanks to the House Board of Managers and their legal team for their diligent work on this matter, and to each of the 121 House Members who bravely acted in the best interest of this state by voting to advance the articles of impeachment. It was a difficult vote to take, but not a difficult decision. And unlike others, they chose principles over politics. I stand with them in full support of their decision and recognize the sacrifices they made in the name of doing what is right. Because of them, Texans had the ability to hear the evidence in a public trial, as the founders of this great state intended.