The Texas Senate voted to acquit Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton on all articles of impeachment, allowing the state’s top law enforcement official to remain in the office he has held since 2015.
“The truth prevailed,” Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement he disseminated after the conclusion of his impeachment trial on Sept. 16. “The truth could not be buried by mudslinging politicians or their power beneficiaries.”
Paxton went on to thank his supporters, his legal team and the senators who found him not guilty of all counts a Texas House of Representatives panel brought up against him earlier this year. He expressed most of his gratitude for his spouse, State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney), who was required to attend the proceedings but prevented from speaking or voting.
“She is a brave woman of deep faith, unquestionable integrity and the light of our entire family,” the AG said in the statement.
Austin NBC affiliate KXAN News reported that Paxton prevailed mostly on a 14-16 vote, with two Republicans – North Texas’ Kelly Hancock and Jacksonville’s Robert Nichols – voting not to acquit him. According to KXAN, Paxton entered a not-guilty plea in every charge. The senators examined just 16 of the 20 original articles of impeachment after choosing to hold four in abeyance, or not included in the trial, the station reported.
The Associated Press reported that Paxton, who served a suspension dating back to the spring when the proceedings took place, was reinstated as AG after the Senate found him not guilty. Per the AP, the acquittal notwithstanding, he still faces a few more legal problems, including, but not limited to, his trial for felony securities fraud charges, a separate Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation and the prospect of losing his ability to practice law in the Lone Star State.