Key takeaways:
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted on all 16 articles of impeachment, which included counts of bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard of official duties.
- Paxton’s hold on the state Senate remained solid and only two Republicans voted to remove him from office on any of the counts.
- The acquittal of Paxton marks the end of a months-long impeachment process that began in May, and is the first of its kind in Texas since the 19th century.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday in the GOP-controlled state Senate on all 16 articles of impeachment, which included counts of bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard of official duties.
The Texas Senate concluded deliberations over whether Paxton should be removed from office, with a two-thirds majority required to convict him on any of the 16 articles of impeachment. Despite more than 60 Republicans in the Texas House crossing party lines in May to impeach Paxton, his hold on the state Senate remained solid and only two Republicans voted to remove him from office on any of the counts.
Paxton is a former state senator and his wife, Angela Paxton, is currently a state senator. Republicans hold a 19-12 majority in the Senate, meaning that if all Democrats voted to convict Paxton, they would need nine Republicans to join them. Each article of impeachment gets a separate vote.
Paxton was barred from voting in the proceedings, but since he attended the trial, the state still needed 21 of the 31 senators to vote to convict him on any of the articles. In the end, the Senate voted unanimously to acquit Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment.
The acquittal of Paxton marks the end of a months-long impeachment process that began in May. The impeachment trial was the first of its kind in Texas since the 19th century and the first of a statewide elected official in the state’s history.
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