Ken Paxton impeachment trial | Closing arguments wrap up, jury deliberations to continue Saturday

AUSTIN, Texas - State senators deliberated into Friday evening Ken Paxton's future as Texas attorney general, but they failed to reach a verdict on whether he is removed from office.

Closing arguments in Paxton's impeachment trial were held Friday morning, with Paxton making an appearance on the Senate floor for the first time since day one of the trial. Now the Senate jurors will vote on what happens next to the suspended Attorney General.

Senators began deliberations at noon after closing arguments. Lt Gov. Dan Patrick then gave them instructions for deliberating as a judge would with any trial, telling them not to discuss the proceedings with anyone other than the other senators.

"You have serious work to do, and I believe you will do it in a serious and responsible fashion," he said.

Just before 7 p.m., some senators started to trickle out of the capitol. 

The sergeant of arms office confirmed to FOX 4 that deliberations ended early for the night with still no decision. Patrick originally said the Senate jury must deliberate until at least 8 p.m. Friday.

Jurors are expected to continue deliberations Saturday at 9 a.m.

If they don't reach a decision by 8 p.m. they will return home and come back to the capitol at 9 a.m. Sunday.

The jury will then be sequestered in the Senate until a decision is reached.

A conviction on any of the 16 articles would remove Paxton from office.

21 of the 30 voting state senators must vote to convict Paxton in order to remove him from office.

State Senator Angela Paxton, the attorney general's wife, is barred from voting under the trial rules.

If the senators vote to convict Paxton, another vote will be held to ban Paxton from holding statewide office again. It would also require a two-thirds majority to pass.

There are 12 Democrats and 18 voting Republicans in the state senate.

That means if all 12 Democrats are expected to vote to convict Paxton on an article of impeachment, 9 Republicans must join them for the attorney general to be removed.

On day one of the trial, the defense filed a motion to dismiss all of the Articles of Impeachment against Paxton. The motion was rejected 24 to 6.                 

The senators were told not to talk to anyone about the trial or check social media or the news. 

If deliberations carry over to Sunday, the senators would be sequestered in the capitol until they reach a verdict. 

Closing Arguments

Closing arguments began on Friday morning with a short plea from House impeachment manager Rep. Andrew Murr (R-Kerrville). 

In the statement, Murr called on the Senate jurors to hold Paxton accountable.

"If we don’t keep public officials from abusing the powers of their office, then frankly no one can," he said.

Then, lead defense attorney Tony Buzbee delivered his closing argument.

In a wide-ranging rebuke that included going through each of the 16 articles of impeachment against the suspended attorney general.

"There's no doubt these folks did not prove a case, they did not prove a preponderance, they did not prove anything other than they do not like Ken Paxton," Buzbee said.

Buzbee also turned his ire against Bush-era Republicans, who the defense has claimed orchestrated the push to impeach Paxton.

"Let it be clear now, the Bush era in Texas ends today," said Buzbee. "They can go back to Maine, this is Texas."

Paxton defeated George P. Bush, the son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, in a May 2022 primary.

The defense lawyer also attacked House Speaker Dade Phelan and criticized members of the OAG's office who testified that they would not investigate Paxton donor and friend Nate Paul's allegations about the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

"Do we believe that the FBI is always on the up and up? Or can we all agree they sometimes they pick and they choose?" Buzbee said.

Buzbee called the trial a "political witch hunt" and said that the House impeachment managers have not done enough to prove any of the articles against Paxton, with much of the testimony based on rumors and hearsay.

"I know in the fiber of my being that this foolishness they accused him of is false," Buzbee said.

Fellow defense lawyer Dan Cogdell then took to the mic, claiming that there is enough reasonable doubt to acquit Paxton.

He said prosecutors Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin are some of the best Texas has to offer, but that they fell short.

"[The prosecution] did the best they could, but the evidence simply wasn't there," said Cogdell.

Rep. Murr came back to give a more thorough closing argument.

Murr leaned on clips of testimony from witnesses over the 8 days of testimony the trial, which he says proves the allegations against Paxton.

They played recording of Paxton's former top deputies-turned whistblowers.

He also talked about someone who was deemed "unavailable to testify," Paxton mistress Laura Olson.

Murr also laid out a timeline for when the OAG whistleblowers went to the FBI and said that it was not until the day after he learned of whistleblowers' report that he paid a contractor for renovations to his Austin home. The allegations in the articles of impeachment say that Paul paid for the renovations.

Rep. Murr used the defense's common refrain against them. Listing the ways Paul allegedly benefited from Paxton's actions and stating "there are no coincidences in Austin."

The House managers closed with emotional testimony from longtime Paxton friend Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) who said he considers Paxton his mentor and "loved" him.

Leach, who was part of the Republican delegation from Collin County, Paxton's home turf, who voted to impeach the attorney general in May.

"In voting to impeach General Ken Paxton, my dear friend, a political mentor, a brother in Christ and a once trusted advisor, this has not just been a hard vote, this has been one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life," Leach said.

Leach said that he called Paxton to talk to the House investigators several times over the years, but the attorney general consistently refused.

He also took issue with the way defense attorney Tony Buzbee spoke of some of the whistleblowers, including longtime Texas Ranger David Maxwell, who was watching the proceedings from the gallery.

"Mr. Maxwell, I see you. You deserve more than to be ridiculed and mocked on the floor of the Texas Senate," said Leach.

Leach told the Senators that this vote will probably be the hardest in their time in the office.

"There comes a time for each of us, there will come a time for you, I believe this is it, not to ask yourself what is safe or popular or politic, but what is right," Leach said.

Live Blog

7:32 p.m. | It is looking like there will not be a verdict tonight.

7:01 p.m. | FOX 7's Rudy Koski reports that several state senators have left the Capitol and that they are leaving with the permission of Lt. Gov. Patrick.

6:57 p.m. | We are getting closer to the 8 p.m. deadline set by Lt. Gov. Patrick. If the senators do not reach a decision by then they will continue tomorrow morning. They have been told to avoid all media.

5:49 p.m. | Still no verdict. Steven Dial is in Austin with what happens now.

4:50 p.m. | We have reached 5 hours of deliberations. At this point, there is no indication of when a verdict may be in.

3:00 p.m. | The Senate deliberations are still underway. If you would like to read the 16 articles of impeachment they are debating look here:

11:51 a.m. | Closing arguments are done. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is reading the rules and deliberation is about to begin. The Senators will work until 8 p.m. tonight. A decision could be announced sooner.

11:46 a.m. | Leach says that Texas Ranger Hall of Famer David Maxwell, a whistleblower in the Paxton case, he deserves more than to be mocked on the floor of the Texas Senate. Maxwell looked on from the gallery along with fellow whistleblowers Ryan Vassar and Blake Brickman.

11:42 a.m. | Rep. Jeff Leach speaks on behalf of the House impeachment managers. He says he has supported Paxton for years.

11:36 a.m. | Murr says the law does not require that they exclude all doubt. He goes through all of the events that allegedly helped Nate Paul and repeatedly using the defense's line, "there are no coincidences in Austin."

11:31 a.m. | Murr breaks down the timeline of the work on Paxton's home. While the House managers don't argue that Paxton eventually paid for the renovations Murr shows evidence that it was brought up after the whistleblower report to the FBI. "There are no coincidences in Austin," Murr quips again.

11:27 a.m. | The House digs into the fake Uber account made to allegedly help Paxton meet with Laura Olson. The credit card connected to the account belongs to Nate Paul.

11:22 a.m. | Watch defense lawyer Dan Cogdell's closing argument here where he calls for a not guilty verdict:

11:14 a.m. | Rep. Murr is letting the testimony from the witnesses speak for itself. He is bringing up articles and playing videos from ex-OAG employees from earlier in the trial.

11:10 a.m. | Watch defense lawyer Tony Buzbee's passionate closing argument here:

11:00 a.m. | Rep. Andrew Murr (R-Kerrville) is back to deliver the rest of the closing argument for the House managers. He is going through clips that he claims proves the articles of impeachment.

10:49 a.m. | Cogdell says that while the Senators may not like everything Paxton did that there is no reason to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that they happened.

10:48 a.m. | Cogdell says the idea that Maxwell didn't they should investigate the FBI is "dumber than a bucket of hair."

10:45 a.m. | Defense lawyer Dan Cogdell is now up. He says the prosecution has a team of some of the state's best lawyers and that they couldn't prove the articles beyond a reasonable doubt.

10:41 a.m. | "I know in the fiber of my being that this foolishness they accused him of is false," Buzbee says. He says he hopes there is enough courage in the room to "put this man back to work."

10:38 a.m. | Buzbee has 10 minutes left.

10:35 a.m. | "If this impeachment is based on a marital impropriety then line up. We're going to be doing a lot of impeaching in this city," Buzbee said. 

10:33 a.m. | Buzbee says Laura Olson was brought into this case because it gets headlines. "There's no reason to do that to this family," he argues. 

10:29 a.m. | Buzbee opposes using the term "whistleblowers" for the former OAG employees. Buzbee calls them "disgruntled ex-staffers" and says they had no evidence.

10:19 a.m. | Buzbee is now going one-by-one through the articles of impeachment, explaining why the jurors should vote to acquit the attorney general.

10:09 a.m. | "Do we believe the FBI is always on the up and up?" Buzbee says. Many former employees of the Office of the Attorney General were against the idea of an investigation into the feds and DPS.

10:05 a.m. | In case you missed it: Here is House manager Rep. Andrew Murr (R-Kerrville) giving opening arguments.

10:04 a.m. | Buzbee repeats that if an impeachment can happen to Paxton, it can happen to anyone. He is speaking directly to the state senators.

9:56 a.m. | Buzbee "let it be clear now, the Bush era in Texas ends today." The defense has implied that the Bush-era Republicans are behind the Paxton impeachment. George P. Bush, son of Jeb, lost to Paxton in the 2022 primary for attorney general.

9:54 a.m. | Buzbee calls the trial a "political witch hunt" that is proof of a battle within the Republican Party.

9:50 a.m. | Paxton's lawyer Buzbee says he is honored to be representing Ken Paxton. He says the House managers expected Paxton to resign after passing the articles of impeachment, but he when he didn't they struggled to prove their case.

9:46 a.m. | Murr yields his time. Now Tony Buzbee is up.

9:42 a.m. | Murr says that Paxton's claims of a conspiracy against him are "divorced from reality." He goes on to say that so many of the AG's actions directly benefited Paxton donor Nate Paul. He then adds the defense's own words "there are no consequences in Austin."

9:39 a.m. | Rep. Murr plays clips from witnesses called earlier in the trial. Murr calls the witnesses that spoke out against Paxton the "best and brightest" who came to work for the office to help the Attorney General.

9:35 a.m. | Rep. Andrew Murr (R-Kerrville) the chair of the House managers opens the opening arguments for the prosecution.

9:32 a.m. | Lt. Gov. Patrick calls both legal teams to the bench. 

9:29 a.m. | Paxton is not looking at Patrick as the articles are being read. Paxton has called the impeachment trial a "sham."

9:22 a.m. | There are 16 articles of impeachment that will be deliberated. Lt. Gov. Patrick is reading them to the jurors.

9:20 a.m. | Patrick says deliberations will begin today and that they will continue until they are finished.

9:19 a.m. | Patrick says there will be at least 30 minutes notice after the verdict is in before the decision is announced.

9:16 a.m. | Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is laying out the rules to the trial ahead of closings.

9:05 a.m. | Another late start for the trial today. No sign of Lt. Gov. Patrick to this point.

8:57 a.m. | Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is back in the Senate chamber for the first time since Day One of the impeachment trial.

8:49 a.m. | Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said proceedings today would start a 9 a.m. Lawyers for both sides are already on the floor.

MORE FROM THE PAXTON IMPEACHMENT TRIAL:

• Defense rests, closing arguments Friday morning
• Paxton's mistress 'unavailable to testify,' prosecutors rest
• Outside lawyer says he was fired by Paxton team, was not paid for work
• Whistleblower: AG pushed for donor's 'insane' theories
• Texas: The Issue Is - A look at first week of testimony in AG Ken Paxton impeachment trial
• Ex-OAG director of law enforcement: 'Nate Paul was a criminal'
• Contentious, emotional testimony in Day 3 of trial
• Whistleblower describes meeting where AG admitted to affair
• Ken Paxton impeachment trial begins, suspended AG cannot be compelled to testify

Paxton Impeachment Vote

After the closing arguments, the Senate jurors will make a decision on Paxton's future.

The senate jury is expected to consider 16 articles of impeachment against Paxton. A conviction on any of the 16 articles would remove Paxton from office.

21 of the 30 voting state senators must vote to convict Paxton in order to remove him from office.

State Senator Angela Paxton, the attorney general's wife, is barred from voting under the trial rules.

If the senators vote to convict Paxton, another vote will be held to ban Paxton from holding statewide office again.

It would also require a two-thirds majority to pass.

There are 12 Democrats and 18 Republicans in the state senate.

That means if all 12 Democrats are expected to vote to convict Paxton on an article of impeachment, 9 Republicans must join them for the attorney general to be removed.

On Day 1 of the trial, the defense filed a motion to dismiss all of the articles of impeachment against Paxton. The motion was rejected 24 to 6.

Paxton himself has not been in the Senate chamber since the first day. He stood silently next to lawyer Tony Buzbee who pleaded not guilty to all articles of impeachment on the attorney's behalf.

The attorney general will have to be in attendance as the verdict is read.

Over the course of the trial several witnesses have been called to the stand, including several of the whistleblowers who reported Paxton to law enforcement. They believed that Paxton misused the Office of the Attorney General to help friend and donor Nate Paul with his legal issues. 

The last time a statewide official was impeached and convicted was when it happened to then-Governor James Ferguson in 1917.

Read the Articles of Impeachment Against Ken Paxton

In May, the House overwhelmingly voted 121-23 to adopt 20 articles of impeachment.

16 of the 20 articles of impeachment passed by the House are up for deliberation in the Senate.

The articles include the disregard of official duty, misapplication of public resources, constitutional bribery, making false statements in official records, conspiracy and attempted conspiracy, misappropriation of public resources, dereliction of duty, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust.

Four other articles are being held in abeyance.

 

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