Paxton Impeachment: The Senate accepts the charges and the Texas Attorney General pleads not guilty

The political trial against suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton formally began this Tuesday in the state Senate: Legislators unanimously supported 16 articles of ‘impeachment’ sent by the lower house, which was considered a Republican defense. lie” and declared Paxton “not guilty”.

“There is nothing here to support Accusation“, Paxton’s lead attorney Tony Busbee said in his opening arguments. He himself expected that he would show evidence to refute the articles defined by the House of Representatives, subjecting the Republican Party to charges of fraud, bribery, and abuse of power.

Buzbee emphasized this Tuesday – Paxton, who was silent in the room – is slandered by representatives of the state Congress, but also by the press, he said, “aligned with the directors of the programs. Accusation In the House of Representatives.

The case against Paxton began in 2020 when a group of his most trusted employees sued him, alleging that the attorney used his power to benefit his friend and donor, Texas real estate investor Nate Pauly. That is why most articles of indictment relate to transactions between the two.

Representative Andrew Moore, a Republican, is one of the directors Accusation (the accusers) and who led the trial of the case, assured that Paxton had sought an action. “Deception” and Alleged Crimes in Handing over Keys to Texas Attorney General’s Office to Nate Paul Using the incredible power of public prosecutors, Mr. Milk can.”

Moore said the evidence they’ve gathered shows Paxton is “unfit to be the attorney general of Texas” and will be indicted in the next two or three weeks.

In the state’s 200-year history, only two state elected officials have been impeached. Paxton, 60, is third, and his case shows a divide among Republicans in the state.

At the end of the hearing, senators will vote on each article. If convicted on at least one count, Paxton could be permanently removed from office. Senators could also vote to block him from running for re-election in Texas.

In addition to impeachment in the Senate, Paxton faces a federal felony charge of securities fraud that could land him in prison.

In a nearly 4,000-page hearing, state representatives gathered evidence in the case. Among other things, they describe Paxton’s alleged attempts to interfere in foreclosure cases by improperly issuing legal opinions to protect Paul’s assets in dispute.

They also assert that there was harassment and interference with their office staff who denounced what was happening in the agency.

Nate was instrumental in the trial against Paxton. He came to him when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated him for making false statements to banks to obtain a million-dollar loan. In return, case workers say, Nate allegedly employed a woman who admitted to having an extramarital affair with Paxton and paid to renovate the attorney general’s home in Austin. This is where the bribery allegations come from.

Paxton fired his trusted employees who reported him, but struck a deal to pay them millions in compensation. His problems worsened when he requested that the state of Texas pay the money from that settlement. That prompted an investigation by state lawmakers that led to an impeachment trial that began Tuesday.

Throughout the suspended attorney’s defense, Buzbee told senators he will present evidence to discredit Nate’s alleged payments for renovations on Paxton’s Austin home. He promised that the Republican and his wife, Senator Angela Paxton — who was in the room but not eligible to vote — would look up the cost of repair materials at stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s: “The Paxtons were slanderous,” he insisted.

He also characterized as “fabricated lies” the evidence that he used an Uber account to see a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair, and that the woman would have been hired by Nate in exchange for lawyer favors.

According to Buzbee, the $25,000 that Nate gave to Paxton for his campaign in October 2018 cannot be considered a bribe: “Ken Paxton is not the only person who received money from donations (…) Campaign donations are not bribes, we should indict. More people.”

According to a poll released Friday by the University of Texas, only 28% of Republican voters believe the House of Representatives has reason to impeach Paxton. In the same poll, the attorney general’s approval rating dropped to 27% among all voters, but remained at 46% among voters of his party.