BREAKING: Texas State Senate Acquits AG Ken Paxton of Impeachment Charges

As RedState previously reported, the Texas state House voted in May to issue articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton — with the aid of Paxton’s fellow Republicans, Bonchie noted.

Now, the Texas Senate, acting as the jury in the impeachment trial of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, has voted to acquit him of all impeachment charges. The vote on the 20 charges against Paxton took place on Saturday morning:

The Texas Senate members will vote on articles of impeachment at 10:30 a.m. #txlege pic.twitter.com/uZyFNt3mKy

— Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (@LtGovTX) September 16, 2023

The vote was delayed slightly, to 11:10 a.m. 

Dallas reporter Natalie Haddad of WFAA shared a primer on the charges — and how conviction works in this case:

Meanwhile, some reminders:

Senators are the jurors in this trial.
There’s 16 Articles of Impeachment for them to vote on.
21 votes is what’s needed for conviction.
All it takes is ONE conviction for permanent removal of office. #txlege @wfaa

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

She added information on the next steps, should Paxton be convicted and removed:

Reminders, pt. 2:

If convicted, a separate vote is expected to be made on whether Paxton is disqualified from holding state office again.

Conviction also requires 21 votes. #txlege @wfaa

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

Here’s a view of the floor of the Senate: 

11:10am. Senators are filing in. Still no sign of Ken Paxton. Sen. Angela Paxton walked in right as I stopped recording — coming in last, she is now at her seat. #txlege @wfaa pic.twitter.com/HM1GLx67xI

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

Paxton was acquitted on Article 1,

There was a vast shift in the number of nays on the first three articles and Article 4: 

Paxton is ACQUITTED of Article 4:

2 yay
28 nay #txlege @wfaa

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

Haddad wrote that the first four charges “accuse Paxton of ‘disregard of official duty,'” as was Article 5 (acquitted). Article 6 involved accusations of “acts of retaliation”:

Paxton is ACQUITTED of Article 6, Disregard of Official Duty (acts of retaliation).

14 yay
16 nay

Some whistleblowers are in the Senate gallery. They appear stoic as the final vote is read. #txlege @wfaa pic.twitter.com/WY0DCuGPND

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

Article 7 related to “misapplication of public resources” and Article 8. again, to “disregard of official duty”:

Paxton is ACQUITTED of Article 7, Misapplication of Public Resources.

14 yay
16 nay#txlege @wfaa

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

Article 9 and Article 10 were about “constitutional bribery.” Paxton was acquitted of both charges, 18-12 and 16-14, respectively. 

Articles 11 thru 14 were held in abeyance (will be dealt with at a later time). Moving on to Article 15.

Paxton is ACQUITTED of Article 15, False Statements in Official Records.

14 yay
16 nay #txlege @wfaa

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

Article 16, on “conspiracy and attempted conspiracy,” was also an acquittal: 

Paxton is ACQUITTED of Article 16, Conspiracy and Attempted Conspiracy.

14 yay
16 nay#txlege @wfaa

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

Article 17,  Misappropriation of Public Resources (acquitted).

#PaxtonVerdict
14 acquittals down for AG Paxton 2 to go

This is for article 18#PaxtonTrial

Republicans voting to impeach AG Paxton on most charges are Robert Nichols district3 & Kelly Hancock @KHancock4TX district9 #RememberThem

— Sand (@sandiek64) September 16, 2023

Paxton is ACQUITTED of Article 18, Dereliction of Duty.

14 yay
16 nay #txlege @wfaa

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

The final two charges:

• Article 19, unfitness for office.(acquitted),
• Article 20, on abuse of public trust, was 16-14 for the nays (acquitted).

A final vote was made on the four charges held in abeyance (passage with a simple 16-vote majority), which the Senate voted not to convict on.

BREAKING: Ken Paxton has been ACQUITTED on all 16 Articles of Impeachment. He can now return to office as the State Attorney General.

This ends a two week trial where, in May, the GOP-led Texas House accused him of bribery, corruption, and being unfit for office. #txlege @wfaa https://t.co/njiZQnr1tE

— Natalie Haddad (@natalieontv) September 16, 2023

Read the full text of the impeachment charges here (.pdf).

As this is a breaking story, RedState will provide further details as they become available.