AUSTIN – House managers prosecuting and lawyers defending Ken Paxton will have their final chance to argue why the attorney general should or should not remain in office this morning.
Closing arguments in Paxton’s impeachment trial begin at 9 a.m. in the Texas Senate. Their final pitches to the senator jurors come after a two-week trial revolving around allegations that Paxton’s dealings with Austin real estate investor Nate Paul were corrupt.
Each side will have one hour to make its case before handing Paxton’s fate over to senators.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is presiding over the trial, said that once deliberations begin, senators will meet every day until they reach a verdict.
Senators have remained under a gag order during the trial, leaving little insight as to how the final vote might turn out. The only hint came at the outset of the proceedings, when senators voted on numerous motions to dismiss the articles of impeachment.
Possibly most telling was a 24-6 vote against dismissing every article of impeachment under review. Twenty-one senators – a two-thirds majority – are required to convict Paxton, meaning the attorney general may need to convince four senators to win acquittal.
Sen. Angela Paxton, the attorney general’s wife, is barred from deliberations and voting. However, because her recusal does not count against the total number of votes, it is essentially a “not guilty” vote.
Paxton, a third-term Republican who pleaded not guilty and has denied all wrongdoing, has not attended the trial and did not testify.
