Texas Senate acquits AG Ken Paxton of all corruption charges

Paxton, who was suspended from office after being impeached by the Texas House, will be allowed to return to office.

The attorney general was not present when the Senate voted. Paxton’s wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, served as a non-voting member of the court and did not participate in the private deliberations. Paxton’s Senate trial began on September 5, with Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick as judge and senators as jurors.

Paxton’s career has been riddled with scandal: He has been under investigation by the FBI for years over accusations that he used his position to help a donor and was separately indicted for securities fraud in 2015 , although he has not yet been tried.

His indictment followed an investigation by a Texas House committee that concluded Paxton may have committed numerous crimes and abused his office to help his friend and donor Nate Paul, a developer Austin real estate.

The GOP-controlled Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Paxton in May, and House impeachment managers served as prosecutors in the Senate trial.

Republican Party support had begun to fray as Paxton’s position became increasingly precarious.

Cornyn (R-Tex.), a former Texas attorney general, called the allegations “deeply troubling” and Rep. Chip Roy, who worked for Paxton, called for his resignation. Former Rep. Louie Gohmert wrote that prosecuting Paxton is not an example of “corruption prosecution”; and Konni Burton, a former Texas state senator who had the most conservative voting record, said she believed Paxton “abused his office.”

The attorney general has closely aligned himself with former President Donald Trump, who jumped to defend him against “establishment RINOs” — “Republicans in name only” — earlier this week.

Trump celebrated Paxton’s acquittal on Truth Social on Saturday, calling it a “great, historic Texas-wide VICTORY.”

Several Texas Republicans also took to social media to congratulate Paxton following his acquittal.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gov. Greg Abbott highlighted Paxton’s efforts to combat the Biden administration’s policies.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the Attorney General to secure the border and protect Texas from the excesses of the federal government,” Abbott wrote.

Sen. Ted Cruz echoed the sentiment and called Paxton “the most effective conservative AG in America,” adding that he looked forward to seeing him back in office.