Ken Paxton impeachment trial begins, suspended AG cannot be compelled to testify

AUSTIN, Texas - It was a busy first day in the historic impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Senators serving as jurors voted no to 16 defense motions to dismiss everything from articles of impeachment to certain evidence.

In this political trial where the attorney general is accused of misusing his power, abuse of office, fraud and accepting bribes from friend and political donor Nate Paul.

More on Ken Paxton

One early victory for Paxton, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick decided that many of the rules in this impeachment proceeding lean towards the rules in criminal court including whether the accused can be forced to testify.

"The House managers have repeatedly compared the actions of the House of Representatives to a grand jury, as they referred the articles of impeachment, grand juries are used in only criminal cases. Therefore, the motion is granted. The attorney general cannot be compelled to testify," Lt. Gov. Patrick said.

We never heard from Paxton during day one of proceedings, standing between his attorneys as Tony Buzbee entered not guilty pleas to each article of impeachment.

Buzbee's not guilty pleas with emphasis brought an objection from House Managers Attorney Rusty Hardin.

"I asked that he be instructed to plead not guilty or guilty, whichever he chooses, but not to be making speeches through his lawyer," argued Hardin.

After lunch, Paxton did not return to the chamber-turned-courtroom.

House Manager Andrew Murr painted Paxton as a man using his office and power for personal gain. Murr argued there is much voters did not know about Paxton's alleged misconduct when they re-elected him.

"Mr. Paxton has been entrusted with great power. Unfortunately, rather than rise to the occasion he's revealed his true character as the overwhelming evidence will show he is not fit to be attorney general for the State of Texas," said Rep. Murr.

Buzbee, Paxton's lead attorney, told Senators what was happening here was a whole lot of nothing. He said Paxton did nothing wrong and then turned his remarks pointedly toward the Senator jurors, with a swipe at media reporting, much of it based on troves of documents published by impeachment managers.

"Have you already decided based on what is politically expedient, or what's best for you personally, or is it even possible to get a fair hearing, especially after this case has been tried in the press? Ken Paxton has been convicted in the press based on ignorance and innuendo and outright lies," said Buzbee.

Following opening arguments, the prosecution called its first witness to the stand, former OAG employee Jeff Mateer.

Mateer was one of the whistleblowers who reported Paxton to the FBI for alleged bribery.

There could be a couple weeks of testimony.

There are 31 senators, but only 30 will vote as jurors, with Angela Paxton, Ken Paxton's wife, excluded. 

21 votes are required for conviction. If all 12 Democrat Senators vote to convict, at least nine Republicans have to join them.

You can watch complete coverage of the trial on FOX4News.com and FOX 4's YouTube channel.

Large portions of the trial will also be available on FOX LOCAL along with highlights and analysis.

Live Blog

4:59 p.m. | Court is adjourned for the day after a dispute over admissible evidence. It is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.

4:14 p.m. | Mateer said he urged Paxton to not continue to deal with Nate Paul, the man at the center of much of the allegations against Paxton.

3:39 p.m. | Prosecuting attorneys called Jeff Mateer, Paxton's former top deputy to the stand. Mateer reported Paxton to the FBI for alleged bribery.

2:52 p.m. | Watch the full opening argument from Paxton defense attorney Dan Cogdell here:

2:46 p.m. | Opening arguments are finished in the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton. Prosecutors are expected to call their first witnesses after the break.

2:31 p.m. | Watch defense attorney Tony Buzbee's full opening argument here:

2:22 p.m. | "We're going to impeach a sitting attorney general for telling someone to find the truth?" said Cogdell.

2:11 p.m. | Defense lawyer Dan Cogdell takes over for the rest of the opening argument.

1:53 p.m. | Tony Buzbee brings up Laura Olson, Paxton's alleged mistress. Buzbee says that Olson has a contract with Nate Paul and continues to work for him today, disputing the idea that Paul hired Olson as a favor to Paxton.

1:51 p.m.| Watch the entirety of the prosecution's opening statement here.

1:47 p.m. | Buzbee calls the impeachment hearing undemocratic in his opening statement.

1:44 p.m. | "Ken Paxton is the best attorney general in the country. Period," said Buzbee.

1:41 p.m. | Defense attorney Tony Buzbee begins the opening statement for the defense. He says the gag order ahead of the trial hurt his case.

1:40 p.m. | Murr wraps his opening statement after 17 minutes. They were given an hour to make their opening statement.

1:27 p.m. | "Even a quick summary of some of the evidence that you are going to hear is shocking," said Murr.

1:20 p.m. | Opening statements are underway. House Impeachment Manager and Texas Rep. Andrew Murr (R - Junction) is giving the opening statement for the prosecution.

1:08 p.m. | Attorney General is not in the Senate chamber as Opening Statements are set to begin. His lawyer Tony Buzbee argues he was only required to be at the trial for a portion of the day. Earlier in the morning, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick ruled that Paxton could not be compelled to testify in the trial.

1:05 p.m. | The trial is back from lunch. Opening statements are set to begin shortly.

12:04 p.m. | The trial has gone to lunch break. Opening statements are expected to begin at 1 p.m. FOX 4's Dan Godwin recaps what happens in the morning.

11:52 a.m. | The articles of impeachment against Paxton are being read to the Attorney General and asking him to make his plea. Paxton lawyer Tony Buzbee is placing a not guilty plea for each article, often calling the articles false.

11:45 a.m. | Back from break Lt. Gov. Patrick shares the rules for the trial. You can read more about them here:

11:17 a.m. | A win for Ken Paxton. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick rules that the suspended attorney general cannot be compelled to testify.

11:10 a.m. | A 22 to 8 vote dismisses an effort to put Articles 16-20 on hold. Senators voted down every pre-trial motion.

11:07 a.m. | Efforts to dismiss articles of impeachment and keep evidence out of the impeachment trial have not gone well for Paxton's team.

11:05 a.m. | The motion is voted down 21-9. Motion after motion from the Paxton team is being shot down.

11 a.m. | The Texas Senate is now voting on holding Articles 16-20 for a later time.

10:58 a.m. | The motion to dismiss Articles IX and X fails.

10:53 a.m. | The Senate is voting for a motion to dismiss Articles IX and X. The articles concern Republican donor Nate Paul hiring Paxton's alleged mistress and allegedly providing expensive renovations to Paxton's home.

10:51 a.m. | Another motion denied for the Paxton team. The motion to dismiss Articles VII and XV by a 21 - 9 vote.

10:48 a.m. | Senators are now voting to dismiss Articles VII and XV. Both also have to do with Paxton's whistleblower settlement.

10:47 a.m. | The motion to dismiss Article VIII fails 20 to 10.

10:45 a.m. | Senators are voting on Impeachment Article VIII. The article concerns a $3.3M settlement agreement with whistleblowers from Paxton's office. Paxton wanted to pay for the settlement using public funds.

10:38 a.m. | North Texas Republican Senators are split on votes for the pre-trial motions. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney) is present, but not allowed to vote.

10:16 a.m. | The Senate continues to overwhelmingly dismiss the pre-trial motions filed by the Paxton team.

9:53 a.m. | The Senate is not making life easier for Ken Paxton in the early proceedings. A third pre-trial motion has been denied.

9:48 a.m. | The second pretrial motion to exclude evidence from before January 2023 fails 22 to 8. The motion is denied.

9:43 a.m. | Senators are now voting on a motion to exclude evidence from before January 2023. Paxton's team has argued that Texas voters knew of his legal issues before his re-election and that it should not be included in an impeachment trial.

9:33 a.m. | Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the Senators will go through several pre-trial motions ahead of the start of the trial. 16 votes are needed to dismiss specific articles of impeachment.

9:16 a.m. | The Senate can dismiss each article of impeachment against Paxton by a simple majority vote. Some believe this is a possibility and that the trial could end as soon as today.

9:04 a.m. | Each member of the Senate being sworn in one-by-one on the Sam Houston bible.

9:00 a.m. | Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Lana Myers, a retired Justice of the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas, take an oath ahead of the beginning of Tuesday's trial.

8:44 a.m. | The gallery is starting to fill out in the Texas Senate. State Senator Angela Paxton has arrived.

8:37 a.m. | Ken Paxton has arrived at the Texas Senate.

8:23 a.m. | The House prosecutors have made their way to the Senate floor.

8:07 a.m. | FOX 4's Steven Dial will be inside the Senate chamber for today's trial proceedings. Steven laid out the stakes for the trial on Monday.

8:03 a.m. | Paul Coggins, the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas joined Good Day this morning to discuss Paxton's impeachment trial. 

7:53 a.m. | Several North Texans made the trip to Austin on Tuesday to show their support for the suspended attorney general. Paige Ellenberger has the story.

7:44 a.m. | Follow our reporters on the ground in Austin and monitoring the trial here in Dallas on social media.

7 a.m. | Reporters and others arrived early to try to secure a spot in the Senate gallery. Only about 49 members of the media will be allowed to witness the trial in person in the Senate gallery each day.

Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial

The Texas House overwhelmingly voted (121-23) to impeach Paxton in May.

Now, he faces a trial in the Texas Senate where state senators, including his wife, Angela, will serve as the jury.

If Paxton is convicted, he would be just the third elected Texas official to be impeached and removed in state history.

Paxton has called the impeachment a "politically motivated sham" and is not expected to testify in his own defense.

Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial: Rules

Even though the trial is not a criminal trial, much of the proceedings will look like one. Both sides are expected to give opening and closing statements and call witnesses as they present their case.

The 31-member Texas Senate will serve as the jury for the trial.

In order for Paxton to be removed from office, two-thirds of the Senators must vote to convict him.

The State Senate is made up of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats, meaning if all 12 Democrats vote to convict Paxton, nine Republicans would also have to join with them for the Attorney General to be removed from office.

State Senator Angela Paxton (R-McKinney), Ken's wife, will be a juror in the trial, but is not allowed to vote.

If the senators opt to convict Paxton, another vote will be held to ban him from holding public office in the state.

That also requires a two-thirds majority vote.

The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.

Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial: Allegations

House impeachment managers released 4,000 pages worth of documents and evidence that they say proves Paxton abused the power of the office of the Attorney General.

Many of the accusations center around Austin real estate investor and Paxton donor Nate Paul.

Paul now faces 8 federal charges for allegedly making false statements to mortgage lenders to obtain $172 million in loans.

Paxton is accused of pressuring his staff to assist Paul and taking action himself to help the real estate investor's business and legal problems while he was under investigation by the FBI.

He is also accused of allegedly revealing the identities of state and federal agents to Paul.

In exchange, Paul allegedly hired Paxton's mistress and arranged for the attorney general to secretly meet with the woman, which included making a fake Uber account. 

Paxton also allegedly received six-figure renovations to his Austin-area home.

Top deputies in the Office of the Attorney General told law enforcement about Paxton's alleged actions.

All eight whistleblowers were eventually fired or quit.

Four of the whistleblowers filed a lawsuit against Paxton, which was settled for $3.3 million earlier this year.

The former deputies are expected to be called to testify during the impeachment trial.