Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton acquitted in impeachment trial
CBSN
Austin, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday in the GOP-controlled state Senate on all 16 articles of impeachment, which included counts of bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard of official duties.
Paxton, who has been suspended since May, when he was impeached by the Texas House, will be reinstated as attorney general.
Although more than 60 Republicans in the Texas House crossed party lines in May to impeach Paxton, his hold on the state Senate remained solid, and only two Republicans voted to remove him from office on any of the counts. After the vote, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presided over the Senate trial and is a close ally of Paxton, said, "Millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted on this impeachment," and blasted the House for pushing through the impeachment.
