{"id":2022714,"date":"2023-09-05T20:09:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T00:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton\/"},"modified":"2023-09-05T20:12:52","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T00:12:52","slug":"republicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans refuse to dismiss impeachment articles against Texas AG Ken Paxton."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2022714&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>AUSTIN, Texas\u2014The Texas Senate chamber was transformed \u2063into a\u200d captivating courtroom for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ken-paxtons-attorney-cancels-news-conference-after-gag-order-issued-over-impeachment-trial\/\" title=\"Ken Paxton's attorney cancels press conference due to gag order on impeachment trial.\">historic impeachment\u2062 trial<\/a> of\u2062 state \u2064Attorney\u2064 General Ken Paxton, which commenced on Tuesday morning at the state Capitol\u2063 in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Following the swearing-in of the 30 senators who will determine Mr. Paxton&#8217;s fate, Lt. \u2064Gov. Dan Patrick began addressing the pretrial \u200dmotions before hearing \u200dthe opening statements.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Paxton faced impeachment on 20 \u2063articles in\u200d late\u2062 May by the \u200dGOP-led House of Representatives, with a vote of 121\u201323.\u2064 This makes him\u200c only the third sitting official to be impeached in the state&#8217;s nearly 200-year history,\u2063 with the last \u2064impeachment\u200b case occurring over \u2063a century\u200b ago.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/in-depth-heres-what-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-texas-ag-ken-paxtons-historic-impeachment-trial-5483480\">IN-DEPTH: \u2063What to Know Ahead of Texas \u200cAG Ken Paxton&#8217;s Historic \u2063Impeachment Trial<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/31\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/in-depth-heres-what-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-texas-ag-ken-paxtons-historic-impeachment-trial-5483480\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/ken-paxtons-attorney-cancels-news-conference-after-gag-order-issued-over-impeachment-trial-5405685\">Ken\u200d Paxton&#8217;s Attorney Cancels News\u200c Conference After \u2062Gag\u2064 Order Issued Over Impeachment Trial<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">7\/18\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/ken-paxtons-attorney-cancels-news-conference-after-gag-order-issued-over-impeachment-trial-5405685\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The articles of \u200dimpeachment against \u200dMr. Paxton include allegations of abuse\u2064 of power and bribery, among others. However, Mr. Paxton and his legal team vehemently deny all of these accusations.<\/p>\n<p>As\u200c one of the\u200b most conservative \u2063lawmakers in \u200bTexas, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-ag-paxton-traveled-to-china-to-meet-with-govt-officials-disregarding-staff-warnings\/\" title=\"Texas AG Paxton ignored staff warnings and traveled to China to meet with government officials.\">suspended attorney general<\/a> has filed over two \u200ddozen lawsuits against the Biden\u200c administration\u2064 since President Joe Biden took office\u2063 in January 2021.<\/p>\n<p>A multitude of Paxton\u200b supporters, donning shirts in solidarity, gathered to witness the \u2063proceedings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Public viewers arrive for the impeachment trial for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton \u2063in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 5,\u2064 2023.\u2063 (Eric Gay\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Pretrial Motions<\/h2>\n<p>The first half of the day was dedicated to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-reject-motions-to-dismiss-impeachment-articles-against-texas-ag-ken-paxton\/\" title=\"Republicans refuse to dismiss impeachment articles against Texas AG Ken Paxton.\">handling numerous \u2062pretrial motions filed<\/a> \u2064by \u2063Mr. Paxton&#8217;s\u2064 legal \u2063team, seeking to dismiss the articles of \u2063impeachment and exclude certain \u2063evidence.\u2064 However, all of\u200d these\u200b motions were denied.<\/p>\n<p>A simple \u200bmajority of 16\u200c out of\u200b the \u200c30 voting members was required to approve each motion. \u2062The\u200b most support Mr. Paxton received was 10 votes out of\u200b 30 to dismiss one article. Many\u200c of the motions only garnered six to eight votes in Mr. Paxton&#8217;s favor.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Paxton&#8217;s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, observed the proceedings from her Senate seat. However, she is\u2062 prohibited from voting or \u2064participating \u2062in the trial, as per \u200dthe rules established earlier this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Among the Senate Republicans, only six\u2064 voted in favor of Paxton \u2064to dismiss every article. They were Sens. Paul Bettencourt, Donna Campbell, Brandon Creighton, Bob Hall, \u2064Lois Kolkhorst, and Tan Parker.<\/p>\n<p>Five other Republicans\u2063 voted \u200dto dismiss at least \u200done of the motions: \u2064Sens. Bryan Hughes, Charles Perry, Charles Schwertner, and Kevin Sparks.<\/p>\n<p>The remaining\u2064 Republicans, including Sens.\u2062 Brian\u200c Birdwell, Pete Flores, Kelly\u2064 Hancock, Joan\u2062 Huffman, Mayes Middleton, Robert Nichols, and Drew Springer, voted against every motion alongside the 12\u2063 Senate\u2064 Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>In\u200d a summary judgment, Mr.\u200b Paxton&#8217;s\u2063 attorneys argued that all of \u200dthe \u200cimpeachment articles\u2062 lacked \u2062supporting\u2063 evidence and should be dismissed.<\/p>\n<p>The senators denied the first\u200b motion to dismiss all \u200d20 articles in a vote\u2064 of 24\u20136.<\/p>\n<p>In a victory for \u2063Mr. Paxton, \u2062his request to be\u200b precluded from testifying was granted,\u2063 citing a defendant&#8217;s right not to be called as a witness \u200din a criminal trial.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    &#8220;The \u2064attorney general cannot be compelled to\u2064 testify,&#8221; Mr. Patrick stated,\u200c adding that\u2062 the decision is &#8220;consistent with\u200c the reasoning and judgment&#8221;\u2064 of\u2062 the United States Supreme Court.\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr.\u2062 Patrick also outlined \u2062the timeline for\u200b the trial.\u2063 Each side will have one hour for opening \u2062and closing statements, as well\u2062 as 24 hours to present evidence, question witnesses, \u200band conduct cross-examinations. The trial is expected to last \u200dapproximately two weeks.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Texas Lt. Gov. Dan\u2064 Patrick presides over the impeachment trial for\u2064 Texas Attorney General Ken \u2063Paxton in the Senate Chamber at\u200d the Texas \u200bCapitol in\u2063 Austin, Texas, on\u2063 Sept.\u2064 5, 2023. (Eric\u200c Gay\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>House Impeachment Managers\u2019 Opening Statements<\/h2>\n<p>House Rep. Andrew Murr delivered the opening statements on behalf of the House \u200dimpeachment managers, who argue \u2062that Mr. Paxton should be removed from\u2064 office \u200ddespite being re-elected to a \u200bthird term in November.<\/p>\n<p>The House impeachment\u200b managers\u2062 have accused Mr. Paxton of using his position to protect \u2062real \u200cestate investor Nate Paul, alleging that Mr. Paul had undue influence over the attorney general&#8217;s office.<\/p>\n<p>They claim that \u2062Mr. Paul helped Mr. Paxton \u2063cover up an extramarital affair and financed a home renovation in exchange for legal assistance from the attorney general.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Voters were not \u200caware of the whole truth,&#8221;\u200c Mr.\u200b Murr said. &#8220;Mr. \u2063Paxton went\u2063 to great lengths to conceal his \u200dmisconduct from the\u200c public.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Murr spent \u200bless than 20 minutes highlighting\u2064 impeachable actions, \u2063including \u200daccusations\u200b that\u2062 Mr.\u200c Paxton\u2063 used burner phones, evaded his security \u2062detail, and established secret email\u2064 addresses to hide his alleged misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>He argued that the evidence will demonstrate Mr. \u2064Paxton&#8217;s &#8220;gradual descent\u200b into corruption,&#8221; emphasizing that the attorney general&#8217;s \u2062conduct does not have to be \u200dproven\u2063 criminal for him to be removed from office.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n    <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe don&#8217;t have to show \u2062some type of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ted-cruz-says-biden-shouldnt-just-be-impeached-he-should-go-to-prison-if-he-did-this\/\" title=\"Cruz: Biden must face prison, not just impeachment.\">quid pro \u2062quo<\/a> to establish that his conduct warrants impeachment,\u201d\u200b Mr. Murr said. \u201cWrongs \u2062justifying impeachment don\u2019t have \u2063to \u200cbe crimes. Wrongs justifying the impeachment are broader than\u200b that because\u2064 they have the purpose of protecting the\u200b state, not punishing \u200cthe \u2063offender.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Opening Statements for Paxton<\/h2>\n<p>High-profile Houston attorney Tony Buzbee dismissed the \u200centire case as &#8220;a\u2063 whole lot of nothing&#8221; \u2064without any supporting \u2064evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Buzbee and defense attorney Dan \u200bCogdell utilized nearly their\u200c entire\u200d hour to refute the accusations, asserting that \u2063they will be \u200ddisproven beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n<p>They accused the \u200cmedia\u200c of\u200c perpetuating falsehoods\u200b against their client and\u200d claimed that the \u2062gag order\u2064 issued \u2063by Mr. Patrick prevented them from addressing the &#8220;fabricated lies&#8221; leveled \u2062against Mr. Paxton.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. \u2063Buzbee remarked, &#8220;Now, the House wants 30 people \u200cto\u2062 decide whether Mr. Paxton is \u200callowed to serve\u2064 his office despite the more than\u2062 4.2 million who re-elected him\u2062 less \u2062than \u2064a year ago.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. \u200cBuzbee pointe<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>transformed the Texas Senate chamber into a courtroom for the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton. The trial began in Austin, Texas, with the swearing-in of the 30 senators responsible for deciding Paxton&#8217;s fate. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick oversaw the proceedings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1556,"featured_media":2022715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2022714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2022714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2022715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2022714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2022714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2022714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}