{"id":2034907,"date":"2023-09-16T19:56:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T23:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-others-react-to-ken-paxtons-impeachment-acquittal\/"},"modified":"2023-09-16T19:57:37","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T23:57:37","slug":"trump-and-others-react-to-ken-paxtons-impeachment-acquittal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-others-react-to-ken-paxtons-impeachment-acquittal\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump and others respond to Paxton&#8217;s impeachment acquittal."},"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\">16<\/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%2Ftrump-and-others-react-to-ken-paxtons-impeachment-acquittal%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=2034907&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--><blockquote>\n<h2>&#8216;Disgraceful Sham&#8217; and Other Reactions<\/h2>\n<p>A \u200cflurry of contrasting reactions has \u200dfollowed news that a\u200d jury of state \u2062senators \u200don Saturday\u2063 voted to\u2064 acquit Texas \u2063Attorney \u2062General Ken Paxton on all 16 articles of\u2064 impeachment.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Paxton, \u2062who was reelected to a third term \u200cin November 2022, \u2064was impeached by Texas&#8217;s GOP-led \u2063House on allegations including bribery and abuse of\u2063 power.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">It was alleged that Mr. Paxton\u2014who called \u200cthe impeachment a political \u2062witch hunt\u2014used his office to help Austin real estate \u200ddeveloper Nate Paul, who was under\u2063 federal investigation. Mr.\u200c Paul\u200b was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-wdtx\/pr\/commercial-real-estate-investor-natin-paul-indicted-eight-counts-austin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recently indicted<\/a> \u200d on federal\u2062 charges of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kushner-relatives-max-out-donations-to-chris-christies-presidential-campaign\/\" title=\"Kushner family donates generously to Chris Christie's campaign.\">making false \u200bstatements<\/a> to banks, with Mr. Paxton not mentioned in the indictments.<\/div>\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\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/texas-ag-ken-paxton-acquitted-on-all-16-articles-of-impeachment-5491525\">Texas AG Ken Paxton Acquitted \u2064on All 16 Articles of Impeachment<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/16\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/texas-ag-ken-paxton-acquitted-on-all-16-articles-of-impeachment-5491525\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-voices-support-for-ken-paxton-amid-impeacment-5491469\">Trump Voices Support for Ken Paxton Amid Impeachment<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/14\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-voices-support-for-ken-paxton-amid-impeacment-5491469\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Paxton&#8217;s\u200b impeachment \u2062led to his suspension from the Office\u2064 of the Attorney General of Texas (OAG).<\/p>\n<p>After eight days of testimony, Texas\u200d state senators voted\u2063 on Sept. 16 to\u00a0acquit Mr. Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment, opening \u2062the \u2064door\u2063 to his reinstatement at \u2062the OAG.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">&#8220;Today, the truth prevailed. The \u200dtruth could not be buried \u200dby mudslinging politicians or\u2064 their powerful\u200d benefactors. I&#8217;ve said many times: \u200bSeek\u2062 the truth!\u200b And that\u200b is what \u2064was accomplished,&#8221; Mr. \u200bPaxton said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KenPaxtonTX\/status\/1703115134686695898\/photo\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> after the\u00a0acquittal.<\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Paxton&#8217;s\u200c acquittal was met with an outpouring\u2064 of reactions on social media\u2014both positive and \u2064negative.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" 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 state \u200cAttorney General Ken Paxton (C) stands\u2064 between his\u200c attorneys Tony Buzbee (front) and Dan Cogdell as the articles of his \u200bimpeachment are read during his impeachment trial \u200din the \u2064Senate Chamber at \u200cthe Texas \u200bCapitol in Austin on Sept. 5, 2023. (Eric Gay\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>&#8216;Disgraceful Sham&#8217; and \u200dOther Reactions<\/h2>\n<p>Soon after news broke of Mr. Paxton&#8217;s acquittal, former President Donald \u200bTrump weighed in, congratulating him and\u2062 criticizing the impeachment trial.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Congratulations to \u2064Attorney General\u2064 Ken Paxton on a great and historic Texas\u200b sized VICTORY. I also want to congratulate his \u2062wonderful wife and family for having had \u200bto\u2063 go \u200cthrough this ordeal, and WINNING,&#8221; President\u2063 Trump wrote\u2062 in a post\u200b on social media.<\/p>\n<p>President Trump also thanked Texas Lt. Gov.\u2064 Dan Patrick, who served as a judge in the trial, along with Republican state senators, \u200bwho the former president said showed\u200b &#8220;great professionalism and fairness.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">At the same time, President Trump singled out for criticism Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, who in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DadePhelan\/status\/1703123084566294981?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement of his own<\/a> lamented the decision to acquit Mr.\u200d Paxton \u200das &#8220;extremely unfortunate&#8221; and pointed \u2064out \u200bthat Mr. \u2064Paxton is still the subject of multiple \u200dlawsuits and investigations\u200b and had &#8220;clearly abused his power, compromised his agency \u2064and its\u2064 employees, and moved mountains to protect and benefit himself.&#8221;<\/div>\n<p>President \u200cTrump\u2064 called \u2063on Mr. Phelan to &#8220;resign after pushing this Disgraceful Sham!&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" 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 Speaker of the House Dade\u2062 Phelan in the House Chamber at the\u200c Texas\u200c Capitol in Austin, Texas, on May \u200b26, 2023. (Eric Gay\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In his statement, Mr. Phelan said that, during the Senate impeachment trial, extensive evidence was \u2062produced attesting to Mr. Paxton&#8217;s &#8220;corruption, deception and self-dealing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is \u200bextremely unfortunate that after hearing and evaluating this evidence, the Texas Senate chose \u200bnot to remove him from office,&#8221;\u2063 he said.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Phelan added that\u2063 the Senate&#8217;s refusal\u2064 to \u2063remove Mr. \u200dPaxton from office is not the \u2064end of the \u200bmatter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ken \u200dPaxton is the subject of multiple other lawsuits, indictments and investigations. If new facts \u200dcontinue \u2064to\u200d come out, those who allowed him to keep his office will have much to answer for.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">But some of Mr. Phelan&#8217;s Republican colleagues took \u2064an opposing \u200cview.<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>More Reactions<\/h2>\n<p>Sen.\u200b Ted Cruz\u2063 (R-Texas) congratulated Mr. Paxton on \u200bthe acquittal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\u201cCongrats to [Paxton] \u2064on being \u2063acquitted of\u2062 every single \u2063article of \u200bimpeachment,\u201d Mr. Cruz wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tedcruz\/status\/1703105578527076686?s=12&#038;t=YaQ9aj86l36JtuUeK9-6Rg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post \u2062on\u2062 X<\/a>,\u200c formerly\u200d Twitter.<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis was the right outcome, consistent with the will of the voters. I look forward to seeing \u2064Paxton back in office, continuing \u200bto serve as the most \u2062effective conservative AG in America,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Paxton is widely viewed as one of America&#8217;s most prominent \u2063legal conservatives, taking up issues in defense of \u2062religious liberty, the Second\u200d Amendment, and\u200b the right to\u2064 life.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">Tony Buzbee, Mr.\u2063 Paxton&#8217;s attorney, said in\u2062 an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/paxton-wont-testify-at-his-impeachment-trial-defense-team-calls-it-a-kangaroo-court-5374477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">earlier statement<\/a> obtained by The Epoch Times that the\u200d impeachment was a\u2064 baseless\u200c attack by political foes seeking to hamstring a formidable opponent who\u200b championed various conservative\u200b causes.<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;This is about silencing conservatives, eliminating an effective political opponent,\u200d and overturning an election,&#8221; said Mr. \u200cBuzbee,\u200b an \u200doutspoken Houston attorney who said in the July statement that Mr. Paxton was the victim of a \u200b&#8221;kangaroo court.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>By \u200dcontrast, Rick Wilson, who co-founded the Lincoln Project, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-throws-out-lawsuit-by-stacey-abramss-pac-over-2018-georgia-governors-election\/\" title=\"Judge Throws Out Lawsuit by Stacey Abrams\u2019s PAC Over 2018 Georgia Governor\u2019s Election\">political action committee established<\/a> by\u2063 former\u2062 Republicans opposed to\u200b President\u2063 Trump, had\u2063 a critical take\u2063 on Mr. Paxton&#8217;s acquittal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">&#8220;Ken Paxton is quite near the\u2063 peak of public corruption in America, \u200dand the Texas Senate GOP just let him walk. So\u200d much for personal\u200b responsibility and\u200b the rule of law,&#8221; Mr. Wilson wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheRickWilson\/status\/1703112378894696479?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post\u200c on X<\/a>.<\/div>\n<p>Meanwhile, Mr. Patrick said he would call\u2064 for an audit of taxpayer money spent during the impeachment process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMillions of \u200dtaxpayer dollars have\u2063 been wasted on this impeachment,\u201d Mr. Patrick said after votes were cast in the impeachment trial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going \u2062to call next week for a full audit of all\u2063 taxpayer money spent by the House \u2063from \u200bthe \u200dbeginning of their investigation in March to their\u2064 final bills they get from their lawyers,\u201d \u200bhe added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2>Background<\/h2>\n<p>Mr. Paxton \u2063had been under FBI investigation for years over \u2063accusations he used his \u200doffice to help Mr.\u2064 Paul, an Austin\u200d real estate developer and donor.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">In October\u2062 2020, a number of top deputies in Mr. Paxton\u2019s agency told the FBI that they believed the \u2062attorney \u200bgeneral \u2064had used his office to help Mr. Paul, \u200cwho had donated $25,000 to\u2062 Mr. \u2064Paxton\u2019s reelection campaign in 2018.<\/div>\n<p>All of\u2063 the whistleblowers\u200c were fired\u2062 or resigned, with their allegations leading \u2062to a federal investigation into Mr. Paxton.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Justice later took \u2062over the investigation, charging Mr. \u200dPaul on June 6 with making false \u200cstatements for\u2064 the purpose of influencing the actions of financial\u200d institutions on applications \u2062for loans.<\/p>\n<p>No\u2064 federal\u2062 charges\u200d have been filed against Mr. Paxton.<\/p>\n<p>A half dozen\u2064 or \u2064so \u200cformer employees of the OAG filed complaints against or sued Mr. Paxton for\u200c wrongful dismissal, claiming he ousted them in retaliation after they reported him to \u2064federal authorities for alleged crimes he \u2064committed in assisting Mr. Paul.<\/p>\n<p>The allegations relating to Mr. Paul \u2063were a\u2064 major part \u2064of the 16 articles of impeachment filed\u200d against Mr.\u200b Paxton, including bribery and abuse of public trust.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">After about\u200d a year of \u200cinvestigating the whistleblowers&#8217; claims, Mr. Paxton&#8217;s office issued a report that refuted\u2064 the former employees&#8217;\u200c claims.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">Later, an outside\u200c law firm hired by Mr. Paxton&#8217;s office to carry out a follow-up investigation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/independent-report-finds-ken-paxton-didnt-break-law-in-firing-former-officials_5305903.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found \u2063that<\/a> Mr. Paxton didn&#8217;t break any laws \u2062or violate office procedure when he fired several staffers who later accused him of wrongful \u200cdismissal and\u200c retaliation.<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">A report (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/press\/Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>)\u200c recently released by the outside law firm, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard &#038; Smith LLP, found that there was\u00a0&#8220;significant\u200d evidence to show the actions\u2062 of the OAG toward the\u200c Complainants were \u2062based on legitimate, non-retaliatory, \u200dbusiness grounds.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">The law firm&#8217;s findings dovetailed with the \u200cconclusions of an\u200b earlier OAG investigation (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/files\/executive-management\/Internal%20Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/news\/releases\/updated-office-attorney-general-releases-outside-law-firms-report-finding-no-violations-law-or\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">similarly refuted<\/a> each of the former employees&#8217; and political appointees&#8217; allegations and called for a\u2063 deeper probe into the matter.<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">Mr. Paxton is\u00a0only the third sitting official in\u2062 Texas\u2019s nearly 200-year history to have been impeached.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>To have \u200dfaith in the justice system and for officials to be held accountable for \u2062their actions. These questions include:<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Still\u2063 facing an ongoing FBI investigation into his alleged\u200d crimes. President Trump called Speaker Phelan&#8217;s statement &#8220;sad and pathetic.&#8221;<\/div>\n<p>Other reactions to the acquittal were equally divided. Supporters of Mr. Paxton hailed the verdict as a victory for justice and praised his defense team for \u200btheir efforts. They argued that the impeachment charges were politically motivated \u2063and lacked evidence.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, critics of Mr. Paxton expressed their disappointment with the verdict, calling it a &#8220;disgraceful sham&#8221; and a failure of the justice system. They believed that the evidence against Mr. Paxton\u200c was strong \u200dand that he should have been \u200bheld accountable for his alleged wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>The acquittal of Mr. Paxton has once again highlighted the deep partisan divide\u200c in the political landscape. It has become increasingly \u2063common for politicians to view\u2064 impeachment proceedings through\u2063 a partisan lens, resulting in a lack of trust in the process and the perception that justice can be \u200cinfluenced by political affiliation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-articles\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Regardless of the opposing reactions, the acquittal of\u200b a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jury-selection-resumes-in-derek-chauvin-trial-half-chosen\/\" title=\"Jury selection resumes in Derek Chauvin trial, half chosen\">high-ranking state official<\/a> like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton raises important\u2063 questions about the integrity and effectiveness of the impeachment process. It is crucial for the\u2064 public<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A jury of state senators acquitted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment. The news sparked contrasting reactions. Paxton, who won a third term in November 2022, faced allegations of bribery and abuse of power, leading to his impeachment by Texas&#8217;s GOP-led House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":2034908,"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-2034907","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\/2034907","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\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2034907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2034908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2034907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2034907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2034907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}