Ken Paxton endorses candidates challenging House Republicans who impeached him
Paxton’s campaign promised more details soon on a “statewide Fall tour,” including campaign stops with the candidates. Full Story
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![Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton enters the Senate floor among his attorneys as both sides have rested in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Body camera footage shows February drunk-driving arrest of Sen. Charles Schwertner
Newly released body camera footage shows state Sen. Charles Schwertner’s February arrest for suspicion of drunk driving. Travis County prosecutors dropped the charge in July. Full Story
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![State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, takes a field sobriety test, seen in bodycam footage released by the Austin Police Department. Schwertner was arrested in February for suspicion of driving while intoxicated but will not face prosecution.]()
Credit: Austin Police Department -
Texas House Democrats hint at disunity ahead of possible October special session
State Rep. John Bryant said Democrats will need to work together to block the “school choice” bill in October. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune managing editor Matthew Watkins moderates a panel with Texas House Democrats Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, and John Bryant, D-Dallas, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton blasts fellow Republicans and floats Cornyn challenge in post-impeachment interview
In his first remarks since being acquitted on 16 articles of impeachment, the suspended Texas attorney general blamed Democrats while also taking aim at a number of high-profile Republicans. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attends a campaign event during a Bulverde Spring Branch Conservative Republicans meeting on May 16, 2022, in Bulverde. Paxton criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, discussed voter fraud in Texas and praised the leaked SCOTUS draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton verdict heightens political tension ahead of education special session
The Texas House and Senate were already far apart on “school choice.” Anger over the impeachment trial might make it even harder to find common ground. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on Feb. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton’s prosecutors stumbled at times. But did it matter in the GOP-dominated Senate?
The House impeachment managers faced a high bar: convincing enough Republican senators to vote against their own political self-interest. Full Story
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![House impeachment manager Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, center, listens as votes are votes cast during Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial on Sept. 16, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial escalates Texas Republican civil war
Paxton’s far-right supporters doubled down on their promises for swift retribution against fellow Republicans who supported his removal from office. Full Story
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![Streetlights illuminate the Texas Capitol through early morning fog on the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in Austin on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
For Paxton lawyers, the trial was a “sham.” House managers say it exposed a “corrupt politician.”
Finally freed of a gag order, the opposing sides pulled no punches after the attorney general was acquitted. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton’s defense attorney Tony Buzbee answers a question from Texas Tribune reporter Karen Brooks during a press conference following the Senate’s vote to acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton of 16 articles of impeachment on Sept. 16, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Dan Patrick, Dade Phelan trade potshots after impeachment trial ends
The lieutenant governor criticized the House for a secretive and rushed process that “wasted” taxpayer dollars. The House speaker fired back, saying Patrick confessed his bias and contempt. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gives a speech to the Senate after the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton at the Texas Capitol on Sept. 16, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton acquitted on all 16 articles of impeachment
Only two of 19 Republican Senators voted in favor of convicting for any article — a stark contrast to the more than 70% of House Republicans who impeached the attorney general in May. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, sits between defense attorneys Tony Buzbee, left, and Mitch Little, right, before starting the ninth day of his impeachment trial in the Senate chamber at the Texas Capitol on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Sam Owens/Pool via San Antonio Express-News -
Paxton defense calls charges “foolishness,” House argues AG “betrayed us” in closing impeachment arguments
Senators begin deliberating in private after defense lawyers and impeachment managers make impassioned pleas after two weeks of trial. Full Story
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![Senators are led onto the Senate Floor at the beginning of the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial at the state capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Taxes, state parks, infrastructure: What you need to know about the Nov. 7 constitutional amendments election
Texans will decide the fate of 14 constitutional amendments approved for the ballot by state lawmakers. Here’s a breakdown of each constitutional amendment and requirements to vote. Full Story
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![Voters wait to cast their ballots at the Dittmar Recreation Center in South Austin on March 1, 2022.]()
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Ken Paxton isn’t the only Texan fighting impeachment this week. Meet Texas A&M’s student body president.
Impeachment at all levels of government are becoming more common, a political scientist said. It could make the political tool pointless. Full Story
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![Senior Student Body President Hudson Kraus at a Texas A&M Student Senate meeting in College Station on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.]()
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Ken Paxton impeachment defense rests after calling 4 witnesses
Senators will hear closing arguments beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, after which they will deliberate in private before emerging to cast votes on whether the attorney general can remain in office. Full Story
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![Tony Buzbee, a lead defense attorney, listens in as Grant Dorfman, Deputy First Assistant Attorney General at the Texas Office of the Attorney General, is questioned by the defense team on the Senate floor during suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s trial on Sept. 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton took a “corrupt” interest in lawsuit on Nate Paul’s behalf, whistleblower testifies
Darren McCarty said the attorney general, his former boss, approached the Mitte Foundation lawsuit with “urgency and anxiety” — and a focus on helping his friend and political donor. Full Story
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![Darren McCarty, former deputy attorney general for civil litigation under Ken Paxton, is sworn in by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during the sixth day of Paxton’s impeachment trial on Sept. 12, 2023.]()
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“I did everything at his supervision”: Outside lawyer says Ken Paxton approved every step of Nate Paul investigation
Houston lawyer Brandon Cammack said he was excited to help the attorney general’s office with a criminal investigation. But after a whirlwind month, he was fired without payment and felt he’d “gotten the rug pulled out from me.” Full Story
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![Houston attorney Brandon Cammack answers questions from Rusty Hardin, a lead prosecutor for the House’s impeachment team, during the sixth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, on Sept. 12, 2023.]()
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What’s at stake in the long-awaited trial over Texas’s sweeping 2021 elections law
The GOP-backed Senate Bill 1 added voting restrictions that plaintiffs claim unfairly impacts voters of color. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 1 on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Carl Sherman becomes latest Democrat to target Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024
The senior pastor positioned himself as a leader who would represent all Texans in contrast to Cruz. The Democratic primary race has already drawn a congressman, a state senator and a South Texas district attorney. Full Story
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![State Rep. Carl Sherman, D-DeSoto, on the House floor on May 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Paxton defense presses whistleblower on what evidence he brought to FBI
On cross examination, Paxton’s defense attorney launched into whistleblower Ryan Vassar for bringing no physical evidence when he and others reported their boss to the FBI. Vassar said he was a witness and not an investigator. Full Story
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![Former deputy attorney general for legal counsel Ryan Vassar answers a question during cross examination on the fourth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Six file to run in special election to replace Rep. Bryan Slaton
The House unanimously voted in May to expel Slaton after a committee investigation found he had sex with a 19-year-old intern after getting her drunk. Full Story
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![Empty chairs on the House floor before a late-night session at the state Capitol on Oct. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune