Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pleaded not guilty to 20 articles of impeachment alleging corruption and abuse of public trust at the start of a historic trial on Tuesday. 

It puts Republicans in an awkward spot as they decide whether to remove Paxton from office or back one of former President Donald Trump‘s staunchest supporters.

Paxton, 60, has been suspended since the state House of Representatives voted to impeach him in May on charges that he used his office to help a major donor.

‘Mr. Paxton should be removed from office because he failed to protect the state and instead used his elected office for his own benefit,’ said Republican state Rep. Andrew Murr, one of the impeachment managers leading the case against the attorney general.

Paxton, echoing his political patron, has dismissed the charges as politically motivated and he retains support from the hard right. 

But, despite the intense publicity surrounding the case, the day’s proceedings played out in front of a public gallery marked by empty rows.

And Republican senators, who make up the ‘jury’ in the case, rejected Paxton’s numerous requests to dismiss the charges.

‘In Texas, we require more from our public servants than merely avoiding being a criminal,’ said Murr.

Paxton faces the first impeachment proceedings in Texas in almost half a century.

The broad allegations have been known since 2020, when eight of Paxton’s top deputies went to the FBI with their concerns.

Paxton is accused of using his office to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul who was indicted this summer on charges of making false statements to a bank to secure more than $170 million in loans. 

The whistleblowers, all conservatives, said Paxton ignored their recommendation and hired an outside lawyer to probe the FBI’s concerns about Paul.

They also accused Paxton of pressuring them to help Paul.

In exchange, Paul allegedly hired a former aide to a Republican state senator with whom Paxton admitted having an affair and bankrolled renovations on one of the attorney general’s properties, a million-dollar home in Austin.

As the articles of impeachment were formally read aloud, Paxton’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, answered the charges by calling them untrue or incorrect and saying his client pleads not guilty.

He said the attorney general ‘gave nothing of significance’ to Paul and framed the proceedings as an attempt to overturn the will of voters. 

Even so, the trial will involve embarrassing questions at the very least.

Paul and Laura Olson, with whom Paxton is alleged to have had the affair, are on the prosecution’s witness list, according to the Dallas Morning News.

They may also call key donors and Republicans, including his primary challengers George P. Bush and Eva Gorman, as well as high-profile party strategist and Paxton-critic Karl Rove.

Questions may also shed light on his extensive foreign travel.

Records obtained by the Associated Press show that after winning a Republican primary run-off he spent two months flying to cities in the Caribbean and Europe. The trips cost taxpayers $91,000 for his security detail and it is unclear who paid for Paxton’s travel.

In all last year he made more international trips that Texas’ governor and lieutenant governor combined. The travel included previously unreported trips to Qatar to watch the World Cup. 

Then there is the coconut cake sent to the attorney general’s office by Texas grocery giant H-E-B around Christmas time. 

Staff had always shared the cake, until that is Paxton was elected.

One former employee said staff were told not to touch it because it had been sent for Paxton’s birthday (Dec 23). Another said Paxton had it brought to a staff lunch but it was never served.

According to gift logs kept by Paxton’s office, it was worth $45.

A two-thirds majority — or 21 senators — is required for conviction, meaning that if all 12 Senate Democrats vote against Paxton, they still need at least nine of the 19 Republicans to join them.

Trump pleads not guilty at arraignment for 2020 election indictment

By Katelyn Caralle, U.S. Political Reporter

Updated: 16:47 EDT, 3 August 2023

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