ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE

The attorney general’s hinted at legal action against Comptroller Glenn Hegar if Paxton isn’t paid, calling the withholding of his salary during impeachment an “injustice.”

On Monday, the former state employees argued that Paxton has failed to uphold key parts of the settlement agreement, including a $3.3 million payment and a promise to apologize.

Lawyers criticize a provision they say erodes the separation of powers between Texas’ executive branch and its courts. It’s been used repeatedly this year as Texans try to block new state laws from going into effect

The Texas attorney general was exonerated by the state Senate, but a lawsuit from former employees still lingers.

The lieutenant governor said that he took just as much from “the other side,” including donors aligned with Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which Paxton has labeled a political enemy.

The radio interviews came the morning after Paxton gave his first post-acquittal interview to Tucker Carlson, telling the former Fox News host he was “re-energized” after the acquittal.

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.

“I feel there were six senators who were ready to be the 21st vote,” said Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas. “But they didn’t want to be the 20th vote.”

The impeachment proceedings, and the events that precipitated them, have left the Texas Office of the Attorney General in turmoil. Can Paxton steady the ship of an institution vital to the conservative cause?

The House impeachment managers faced a high bar: convincing enough Republican senators to vote against their own political self-interest.

It marked a screaming milestone in a two-decade political career that has seen Paxton harness the state’s increasingly conservative politics — and later the rise of Donald Trump — to stay in power longer than his vulnerabilities would suggest.

Paxton’s far-right supporters doubled down on their promises for swift retribution against fellow Republicans who supported his removal from office.

Democrats, however, said their GOP colleagues “caved” to outside pressure in voting to acquit and return Ken Paxton to his job as attorney general.

After spending two weeks listening to both sides make their case, Texas Senators voted to acquit Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment. Because of this vote, Paxton will remain in office.

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.

Other public officials have begun weighing in after the attorney general was returned to his post as the state’s top lawyer.

Senators begin deliberating in private after defense lawyers and impeachment managers make impassioned pleas after two weeks of trial.

Deliberations are expected to resume at 9 a.m. Saturday. Paxton is accused of misusing his office to help a friend and donor who was under federal investigation.

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.

The House prosecutors failed to call a star witness and battled with the defense attorneys over allegations the suspended attorney general had been bribed by Nate Paul.

Drew Wicker, Paxton’s former personal assistant, testified at Paxton’s impeachment trial that his boss used four cell phones and ditched his security to meet with Nate Paul. But Wicker also provided Paxton’s lawyer with a chance to attack a central bribery allegation.

Watch a livestream of the attorney general’s impeachment trial and get the latest updates as senators weigh his political future.

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.

The prosecution and the defense were each given 24 hours to present their case and cross examine witnesses.

“My heart broke for her,” Katherine “Missy” Cary said of Sen. Angela Paxton, Ken Paxton’s wife. Angela Paxton is disqualified from voting but has to attend the trial.

Mark Penley testified that Paxton made numerous negative comments about the Texas Department of Public Safety because of his 2015 securities fraud case. “He doesn’t trust the [DPS] director and he feels like they ran a corrupt investigation on him,” he said.

One whistleblower testified that Ken Paxton didn’t trust law enforcement after his own securities fraud indictment. Senators could begin deliberating the impeachment charges later this week.

The suspended attorney general’s lawyers focused on disloyalty and attacked evidence, while impeachment managers accused Paxton of excessive and obsessive misconduct. Neither side ignored the politics behind the case.

The former top cop for the attorney general’s office testified that complying with real estate investor Nate Paul’s requests would have amounted to criminal activity. Defense attorneys also questioned whistleblowers about their group texts.

A Virginia town is settling a lawsuit that sprang from a Black and Latino Army lieutenant being pepper sprayed during a traffic stop.

Former attorney general officials testified that Ken Paxton pushed to release confidential FBI records to friend and donor Nate Paul. They also denied defense attorneys’ assertions that they staged a “mutiny.”

On the second day of the impeachment trial, former officials in the attorney general’s office say Ken Paxton’s relationship with real estate investor Nate Paul raised alarms. Defense attorney accused the witnesses of “staging a coup.”

The pretrial motions required a majority vote. All but one were rejected by two-thirds of the Senate, suggesting an openness in the chamber to hear the allegations against Paxton.

Records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune give deeper insight into how Paxton’s representation denials often pushed agencies to look for outside legal counsel that was ultimately funded by taxpayers.

The impeachment trial that starts Tuesday is expected to center on Paxton’s infidelity, and could air out the sordid details of the staunch, Christian conservative’s life as he sits just yards away from his wife, and her 30 Senate colleagues.

Under rules previously adopted by the Texas Senate, the trial will feature crucial votes on dismissing articles of impeachment as well as testimony under oath, private deliberations by senator-jurors and votes conducted without debate or discussion.

The articles — including bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard of official duty — do not include four accusations originally adopted by the Texas House.

The Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses also said they will not fundraise as organizations during the trial, which starts Tuesday.

The suspended attorney general has been ordered to appear in the Texas Senate chamber to answer to 16 allegations of misconduct that were approved by the House in May.

Senators who will act as jurors in the impeachment trial of the attorney general are being lobbied and targeted by political groups.

Lawyers for the suspended attorney general argue that compelled testimony would violate Paxton’s rights, but House impeachment managers disagree. The issue may be settled shortly after his trial begins.

Drew Wicker testified that he ferried documents to Nate Paul on behalf of his boss and witnessed conversations that suggested Paul was paying for the attorney general’s home renovations.

The Senate, which is conducting the trial, published the exhibits Thursday night. House impeachment managers say Paxton abused his office to help friend and political donor Nate Paul.

Before 30 senators take on their role as impeachment trial jurors, they face a series of momentous decisions on whether to dismiss the charges as requested by the attorney general.

After Paxton’s lawyers sought to dismiss articles of impeachment as unsubstantiated, House managers responded by accusing the suspended attorney general of going to great lengths to cover up his relationship to the real estate investor.

The seven-months-pregnant officer reported contraction-like pains at work, but said she wasn’t allowed to leave for hours. The anti-abortion state is fighting her lawsuit, in part by saying her fetus didn’t clearly have rights.

In just a few decades, the Texas attorney general’s office became a powerhouse in national legal fights over abortion, health care and immigration. Here’s a timeline of how it happened.

If successful, the flurry of legal filings would halt the suspended attorney general’s September impeachment trial before it truly begins in the Texas Senate.

The impeached attorney general appeared in a Houston courtroom, where lawyers from both sides agreed to return in October to set an expected trial date on charges that have been pending since 2015.

Barraging the Obama administration with lawsuits, the Texas attorney general’s office wasn’t just trying to block policies. It was injecting disruptive, overtly Christian legal philosophies into the mainstream, and grooming a generation of conservative legal warriors.

With his election as Texas attorney general, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn planted the seeds of conservatism. Gov. Greg Abbott used his tenure to cultivate them into an aggressive strain of right-wing activism aimed at driving the nation’s courts and laws to the right.

A federal judiciary full of ideological allies is helping Texas block Democratic priorities and advance right-wing legal doctrines. But the bigger prize is conservative control of the rule of law itself.

The suspended attorney general’s campaign disclosure did not shed light on how he is paying for his impeachment legal defense.

Central America is experiencing a wave of unrest that is remarkable even for a region whose history is riddled with turbulence.

The Guatemalan government’s clumsy interference with its presidential election has turned a global spotlight on a country whose struggles with deep corruption previously received little international notice.

Guatemala sank deeper into political turmoil as prosecutors targeted a progressive presidential candidate who proved to be surprisingly popular.

Governor’s deputy chief of staff replaces John Scott as agency leader while suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton awaits his September impeachment trial.

The Texas Senate could compel the suspended attorney general to testify, but members of his defense team say they will fight those efforts.

Texas and Louisiana sued after the Biden administration told immigration agents to focus on deporting undocumented immigrants who are convicted of felonies or pose a risk to public safety. The Supreme Court said states didn’t have any standing to sue.

Once high-ranking officials in the attorney general’s office, the four were fired after reporting concerns about Paxton’s behavior to law enforcement.

In 2020, deputies in the attorney general’s office met with FBI agents to accuse their boss of misconduct. Their accusations would form the backbone of articles of impeachment against one of the state’s most powerful officials.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruling overturns lower-court decisions that had moved the case back to Collin County, where the suspended attorney general lives.

It is not immediately clear what Paul was charged with, but Travis County officials confirmed he was being held in the jail at the request of the FBI. Paxton’s deputies accused Paul of bribing Paxton in 2020.

Following Paxton’s impeachment on Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed former Texas Secretary of State John Scott to serve as the state’s top attorney.

Brent Webster came to the Texas attorney general’s office in 2020. His work as Ken Paxton’s top aide was quickly mired in controversy.

The suspended attorney general’s supporters thought lawmakers tried to overrule voters. Ken Paxton’s critics felt accountability was a long time coming.

Abbott himself is a former attorney general, preceding Paxton in the position. The governor has built deep connections in the conservative legal world and is known to lean on former aides for high-profile appointments.

Here’s a list of the representatives who voted for and against impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday.

The House voted 121-23 to suspend the attorney general and refer him to the Senate for trial on charges of bribery, abuse of office and obstruction. It was the first such impeachment since 1975.

Child support enforcement, environmental regulation, consumer protection and a host of other responsibilities fall under the attorney general’s realm at what is essentially the state’s largest law firm.

In this week’s episode, we discuss the first impeachment proceedings against a sitting attorney general in Texas history.

Paxton is now suspended until the outcome of a trial in the Senate. Gov. Greg Abbott can now appoint someone to temporarily fill the vacancy.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office has paused its practice of paying for emergency contraception, and in rare cases abortions, for victims of sexual assault.

U.S. District Matthew Kacsmaryk was once deputy counsel for the the First Liberty Institute, the Plano-based conservative Christian law firm.

Many state-owned vehicles are aging past the standards for replacement. Early budget drafts signal that lawmakers are considering funding some $237.6 million in requests for new ones.

Paxton and the four whistleblowers asked the Texas Supreme Court to defer consideration of the case until they can finalize the settlement, after which they’ll move to end the case.

Although no evidence of widespread voter fraud has been found, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been actively pursuing election-related crimes since he took office in 2015.

Texas Tribune photographers spread out all over the state to document a momentous midterm election.

In a difficult cycle for Democrats, the race was widely seen as the most competitive statewide election because of Paxton’s laundry list of legal troubles.

That Paxton is so close to securing his reelection this November as the state’s chief legal officer is raising alarms from election experts about the impact he could have on future contested elections, particularly if Donald Trump runs for president again in 2024.

A federal judge who previously quashed the subpoena ruled that the attorney general must take the witness stand in a lawsuit from abortion funds.

Garza remains the underdog, battling her own low name recognition and a fundraising disadvantage in an expensive statewide race that is already demanding considerable resources for travel and TV ads.

Texas agencies say they are being hammered by a historic staffing crisis, particularly when it comes to those in the trenches serving the state’s most vulnerable populations.

Lawyers for abortion funds want Ken Paxton to testify in their lawsuit. He fled his home Monday while being served a subpoena that was later quashed by a judge.

In an affidavit, a process server said that the state’s top attorney tried to evade him as he attempted to deliver a subpoena from an abortion fund’s lawsuit against the state.

The nonbinding legal opinion states local elected and appointed officials can receive up to $25,000 for work done during the COVID-19 pandemic on top of their regular salaries. Unlike other pay raises, these “premium pay” bonuses don’t need to be declared to the public ahead of time.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service announced in May that it would expand its definition of sexual discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Paxton and other attorneys general are suing in response.

The bar, which licenses lawyers and offers training sessions, is suing Paxton in an attempt to sanction him for trying block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.

The Texas attorney general would be the one to hold True the Vote accountable on allegations that it swindled a $2.5 million donor. But the nonprofit’s founder has been a friend and an ally.

State and local Uvalde officials have fought the release of records that could provide clarity on the botched emergency response to the shooting that killed 19 children and two educators.

A federal lawsuit claims Llano County leaders perpetrated a coordinated censorship campaign in how they limited the books that taxpayers could access.

Garza, a civil rights attorney from Brownsville, beat former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski during Tuesday’s primary runoff and will face the Republican nominee in the general election. A Democrat has not led the Texas attorney general’s office since 1994.

Bush, who has served for seven years as the state’s land commissioner, campaigned on restoring integrity to the attorney general’s office and hit Paxton for his legal and ethical troubles.

Paxton’s backers say they’re looking past the FBI investigation into Paxton and his felony indictment because he’s a a strong conservative advocate fighting the Biden administration.

Rochelle Garza sued the Trump administration in 2017, seeking access to an abortion for an undocumented teenager. Joe Jaworski, a former Galveston mayor and a trial attorney for over three decades, presents himself as the more experienced candidate.

George P. Bush is running for attorney general as a Trump-supporting, hard-right social conservative. But voters associate his family name with the party’s moderate wing. That could hurt him in the Republican primary runoff.

A few hours after saying he was being sued by the bar, Paxton’s office announced an investigation into the Texas Bar Foundation for “facilitating mass influx of illegal aliens.”

As Texas defends against accusations that its new political maps are discriminatory, it’s laying the groundwork to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out longstanding Voting Rights Act protections.

District Judge Amy Clark Meachum said the governor’s directive for the state child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children was “beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional.” The statewide injunction will remain in effect until the case is heard in July.

Merritt endorsed the top vote-getter, Rochelle Garza, who will face Joe Jaworski in the Democratic runoff for attorney general on May 24.