(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



TX-AG: Ken Paxton is in trouble [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-09-05  

The impeachment trial of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton commenced this morning. Read this article to see all the charges.

There are 31 Senators. Since Ken Paxton’s wife Angela (R-SD8 McKinney) is a Senator the Senate agreed on rules to bar her from voting or deliberating. But she still counts towards quorum meaning, for practical purposes she counts as a NO vote on all motions or charges. Therefore a ⅔ majority is 21 votes to convict and a 50% threshold is 16 votes to pass motions.

The trial kicked off this morning with numerous motions by Paxton’s legal team to dismiss the charges before the trial could begin. 16 of 19 Republicans were required to dismiss a charge.

Paxton has a solid six defenders, they are:

Paul Bettencourt (R-SD7 Houston) Donna Campbell (R-SD25 New Braunfels) Brandon Creighton (R-SD4 The Woodlands) Bob Hall (R-SD2 Rockwall) Lois Kolkhorst (R-SD18 Victoria) Tan Parker (R-SD12 Flower Mound)

Those Senators voted with Paxton on every single motion. Bob Hall is notable because he is the only person who represents Paxton’s home of Collin County who voted with him (all six state representatives from Collin County voted for impeachment. Sen Drew Springer voted against the motions and, as noted, Sen Angela Paxton cannot vote). Weirdly Senators Charles Perry (R-SD25 Lubbock) and Charles Schwertner (R-SD5 Georgetown) went back and forth, voting for some motions, but not for others. I am truly shocked that Paxton’s former roommate, and named conspirator on charge #2 Sen Bryan Hughes (R-SD1 Mineola) voted against all the motions. Sen Mayes Middleton (R-SD14 Galveston), who put $300k into Louis Gohmert’s quixotic primary campaign against Ken Paxton in 2022 and all 12 Democrats were all steadfast against Paxton and will surely be voting to convict. What we don’t know is if the other Republicans are definitely convicting or just want to hear the evidence. 🤷🏻‍♂️

But it certainly appear that there are 22 votes that could vote to remove Ken Paxton from office.

Ken Paxton has, through his attorney, plead not guilty to all charges.

Watch live here on YouTube or the Senate website.

Ken Paxton is on the lam, and didn’t return to the trial after lunch.

x Before opening statements, attorney Rusty Hardin noticed suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton was missing from his impeachment trial. Here's how it unfolded... https://t.co/EWgwC0haw4 — KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) September 5, 2023

LOLZ at Paxton’s wife Sen Angela Paxton (R-SD8 McKinney) sitting uncomfortably in the center of the camera:

Day one ends with an argument by the defense that the prosecution can’t introduce their own defense exhibits into evidence. LOLZ.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/5/2191633/-TX-AG-Ken-Paxton-is-in-trouble

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/