by Charlotte Hazard
The Texas Senate voted on Saturday to acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment that had been voted against him by the Texas House of Representatives.
In May, the GOP House voted 121-23 to impeach him on 20 articles that include bribery and abuse of public trust. The Senate did not take up four of those articles.
The verdict was decided on by 30 senators, of whom 12 are Democrats and the rest Republican. The 31st Texas senator is the wife of Paxton, who was not allowed to vote in the proceedings.
Paxton will not be removed from office.
Paxton faced 16 articles of impeachment that alleged he used his power and office to help donor-investor Nate Paul work through legal difficulties. He was also accused of accepting bribes in the form of renovations to his home. One of the articles of impeachment was about a job from Nate Paul for a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair.
The GOP-led House voted to impeach Paxton earlier this year. He also allegedly retaliated against whistleblowers and spent government money to try to cover up his wrongdoing with a sham investigation into their claims. He has denied all the allegations and continues to fight them.
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Charlotte Hazard is a reporter at Just the News.