AUSTIN, Texas | The charmed life of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will proceed as it always has - that trial on 16 charges that included abuse of office led to a Not Guilty verdict today.
A Texas Senate jury says he can get back to work.
Paxton was suspended last May, when the Texas House voted to bring charges against him after an investigation yielded a mountain of information that spoke to Paxton being a loose cannon and using his office to aid friends in exchange for gifts.
The 60-year-old Republican did not testify during his impeachment trial. At the heart of the matter was a pattern that saw Paxton help and keep helping his friend and donor Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor. Paxton’s defense attorneys had said all of his disputed actions were within his purview as an elected official, asserted that no accusations were proven beyond a reasonable doubt and urged senators to return the attorney general to work.
The case had all the angles of a TV drama, with word of an in-house rebellion by staff attorneys who questioned much of Paxton's relationship with Paul and which ultimately led them to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where they submitted "whistleblower" complaints.
The attorneys were then summarily dismissed. They filed a lawsuit and won a $3.3 million settlement.
It was the payout that started the mess for Paxton, as he sought to get Texas taxpayers to cover the hefty settlement. Texas legislators balked at doing that and then began their investigation, which led to Paxton's suspension and eventual trial.
There was also the sub-plot that had Paxton seeing a mistress named Laura Olson, a four-times divorced 50-year-old. The allegation was that Paxton had Paul to give her a job as a way to keep her in town. Miss Olson had been scheduled to testify, but her appearance was cancelled. Paxton's wife, Angela, played the part of the tragic wife.
A state senator representing her district centered in McKinney, a Dallas suburb, 60-year-old Angela Paxton was there daily, listening to testimony with fellow senators. We looked for but could not find reaction to the verdict from her.
Ahead of the vote, Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, one of the House impeachment managers, told senators that Paxton's defense lawyers "have blindly ignored the fact that he ultimately served one person: himself."
Ken Paxton may celebrate this particular victory, but he has pending problems. He faces trial on charges of securities fraud dating back to 2015.
A federal investigation that came after Paxton's senior aides reported him to the FBI in 2020, alleging crimes similar to these impeachment charges has reached a grand jury in San Antonio. That potential criminal indictment carries far higher stakes than impeachment.
Fighting to stay in office is one thing; doing it to remain out of prison is altogether another...
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The jury's vote on the articles of impeachment were:
Article 1, disregard of official duty: Acquitted
Article 2, disregard of official duty: Acquitted
Article 3, disregard of official duty: Acquitted
Article 4, disregard of official duty: Acquitted
Article 5, disregard of official duty: Acquitted
Article 6, disregard of official duty: Acquitted
Article 7, misapplication of public resources: Acquitted
Article 8, disregard of official duty: Acquitted
Article 9, constitutional bribery: Acquitted
Article 10, constitutional bribery: Acquitted
Article 15, false statements in official records: Acquitted
Article 16, conspiracy and attempted conspiracy: Acquitted
Article 17, misappropriation of public resources: Acquitted
Article 18, dereliction of duty: Acquitted
Article 19, unfitness for office: Acquitted
Article 20, abuse of public trust: Acquitted
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Feds will get him. That smirk he wears jerks me off. But this is Texas, so.
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ReplyDeleteRepublican fun and games. It will be different when he gets into federal court, but he likely believes Trump will pardon him if convicted there. Ho hum
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