DALLAS (AP) 鈥 For years, the powers and protections that come with being Texas鈥 top lawyer have helped Ken Paxton fend off ethics complaints, criminal charges and an FBI investigation.
With the Texas Senate鈥檚 Saturday Paxton of corruption charges at his impeachment trial the Republican has once again demonstrated his rare political resilience. And he retains the shield of the attorney general's office in legal battles still to come.
After being cleared, Paxton, 60, thanked his lawyers for 鈥渆xposing the absurdity鈥 of the 鈥渇alse allegations鈥 against him, and he promised to resume doing legal battle with the administration of President Joe Biden.
"The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt," he said in a statement. 鈥淣ow that this shameful process is over, my work to defend our constitutional rights will resume.鈥
Back in office, Paxton nonetheless still faces serious risk on three fronts: an ongoing into the same allegations that led to his impeachment; a over his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election; and felony dating to 2015. Here's what to know about each:
THE FEDERAL INVESTIGATION Paxton came under in 2020 when eight of his top deputies reported him for allegedly breaking the law to help a wealthy donor, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.
The former deputies' accusations that Paxton abused his power to help Paul were at the core of Paxton's impeachment. Lawmakers in the Texas House of Representatives say it was the still-open question of funding a in a lawsuit brought by four of the deputies that sparked the impeachment investigation.
Several of Paxton's former deputies took the witness stand against him. They recounted going to the FBI and testified that the attorney general tried to help Paul fend off a separate FBI investigation
They also testified that Paul with whom Paxton had an Another former employee, Drew Wicker, said Paxton鈥檚 second-in-command later discouraged him from speaking with the FBI.
Paul was on charges of making false statements to banks. He has pleaded not guilty and was not called to testify at the impeachment trial.
The federal investigation of Paxton has dragged on for years and was shifted in February from a to ones in In August, federal prosecutors began using a grand jury in San Antonio according to two people with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of secrecy rules around grand jury proceedings.
One said the grand jury heard from Wicker, Paxton鈥檚 former personal aide. At the impeachment trial, Wicker testified that he once heard a contractor tell Paxton he would need to check with 鈥淣ate鈥 about the cost of renovations to the attorney general鈥檚 Austin home.
Paxton has consistently denied wrongdoing. One of his defense attorneys, Dan Cogdell, acknowledged in August that authorities were still interviewing witnesses but said the 鈥渃ase will go nowhere at the end of the day.鈥
THE SECURITIES FRAUD CASE
In 2015, Paxton was indicted on charges of defrauding investors in a Dallas-area tech startup by not disclosing he was being paid by the company, called to recruit them. He faces five to 99 years in prison if convicted and has pleaded not guilty.
The indictments were handed up just months after Paxton was sworn in as attorney general. He won a second and despite them.
Paxton's trial has been by legal debate over whether it should be heard in the Dallas area or Houston, changes in which judge would handle it, and a protracted battle over how much the special prosecutors should get paid.
Weeks after the Republican-led Texas House voted to Paxton, the state's high criminal court ruled his trial would The judge overseeing it said in August that she would set a trial date after the impeachment trial.
Cogdell said that month that if Paxton were removed from office it would open the possibility of him making a in the case.
THE DISCIPLINARY HEARING
Also on hold during Paxton's impeachment trial was an ethics case brought by the state bar.
In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court to, effectively, overturn then-President Donald Trump's electoral defeat by Joe Biden based on bogus claims of fraud. threw out the request.
Afterward, the State Bar of Texas received a series of complaints alleging that Paxton and a deputy had committed professional misconduct with the suit. The bar didn't initially take up the complaints but later launched an .
Last year, the bar sued seeking unspecified discipline for Paxton and his alleging they were 鈥渄ishonest" with the Supreme Court.
Paxton dismissed the bar's suits as 鈥渕eritless鈥 political attacks. The attorney general's office has argued that because it is an executive branch agency and the bar is part of the judicial branch, the cases run afoul of separation of powers under the state constitution.
A judge overseeing the bar's case against the deputy, Brent Webster, accepted this argument. But he was reversed on appeal in July. That month, another court scheduled arguments in the disciplinary case against Paxton only to delay them when it became clear they would fall in the middle of his impeachment trial.
The attorney general's office continued to defend Paxton in the case even after he was suspended from office. If he's found to have violated ethics rules, Paxton faces the prospect of disbarment, suspension or lesser punishments. ___
Find AP鈥檚 full coverage of the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at:
