Impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton to continue Wednesday

HOUSTON – The impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate has concluded its first day on Tuesday in Austin.

The case is centered on Paxton’s extramarital affair and a series of crimes impeachment managers allege he committed to cover it up.

Paxton is the first statewide elected official impeached in more than a hundred years, and his trial will be massive.

“In Texas political cases, this is the Super Bowl,” said Santosh Aravind, a former federal prosecutor out of the Southern District of New York and now an Austin-based criminal defense attorney specializing in white collar cases.

KPRC 2 provided live, in-depth coverage through our popular series ‘The Bench,’ which takes an innovative, multi-platform approach to help layperson trial watchers track the intricacies of the impeachment - and why it’s a critical legal case in Texas.

Watch ‘The Bench’ Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the KPRC 2+ livestream player below:

Paxton was impeached by the Texas House in late May in a vote that stunned many people because of the number of Republican lawmakers who supported ousting him.

“It was the Republican vote that made it such a dramatic event, because these are his own party people voting and they voted overwhelmingly,” said Ed Emmett, KPRC 2′s Political Analyst and a former legislator in the Texas House of Representatives.

Twenty Articles of Impeachment were presented at the hearing in May. Most notably, impeachment managers accuse Paxton of engaging in bribery and conspiracy involving two people he knew well - a close political donor and his mistress.

Now, it will be up to the Texas Senate to decide whether to officially remove Paxton from office.

“This is like a hurricane that is coming ashore,” said longtime Texas lobbyist Bill Miller. “The storm has formed. It’s a Category 5 storm, and it’s hitting the shore.”

Here’s what happened during trial on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

• Thirty jurors were sworn in individually at the beginning of the trial.
• Sixteen pre-trial motions were presented to the jury that could result in the dismissal of articles of impeachment.
• Majority of the jurors voted “no” on all pre-trial motions to dismiss the impeachment trial.
• The Senate will move forward with the impeachment trial of Paxton after the court’s ruling on pretrial motions.
• At 11:20 a.m., court took a 10-minute break.
• After break at 11:30 a.m., Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the trial will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Patrick also presented the rules and operations of the trial.
• According to NBC News, Paxton secured one key win Tuesday, when the lieutenant governor — who alone decides procedural matters, under the rules approved by the Senate — decided that Paxton could not be forced to appear as a witness at his own trial.
• Paxton enters a plea in the impeachment trial.
• Paxton’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, entered a “not guilty” plea in the allegations against the suspended attorney general.
• The trial has paused for a lunch break at noon and opening statements are expected to begin at 1 p.m.
• After returning from lunch break, Paxton was not present for the afternoon session and wasn’t required to be based on rules approved by the Senate earlier this year.
• At 1:15 p.m., opening statements begin for prosecutors.
• At 1:33 p.m., Rep. Andrew Murr wraps opening statement for prosecution.
• At 1:34 p.m., Buzbee begins opening statements for defense.
• Buzbee stated that nothing in evidence supports impeachment. He touted Paxton’s record as an attorney general who was fighting the federal government, sued the Obama and Biden administrations and popular among voters.
• At 2:06 p.m., Buzbee wraps opening statements and hands off to co-counsel Dan Cogdell.
• Cogdell begins opening statements with saying there is no evidence that’s beyond a reasonable doubt.
• At 3:32 p.m., Cogdell wraps opening statements.
• At 2:34 p.m., court takes a short break and should resume around 2:50 p.m.
• At 3:19 p.m., former deputy Jeff Mateer, who reported Paxton to the FBI before resigning, takes the stand as a witness for questioning from prosecutors.
• Just before 4:30 p.m., Lt. Patrick orders a five minute break after prosecutors and the defense team debate about admitting a piece of evidence.
• At 4:56 p.m., Lt. Patrick adjourns court for the day and will continue the trial Wednesday morning.

Paxton responds

After Tuesday’s court session, AG Ken Paxton wrote on X, formerly Twitter, thanking his supporters for the support.

“I want to thank you all for your prayers and support. I will never back down for defending freedom,” he wrote.

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