The Texas Senate will givel in on Tuesday for the trial of impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton. This is a political reckoning over years of alleged corrupt practices that could result in his permanent removal from office.

Paxton’s fate, a 60 year old Republican, lies in the hands GOP senators, with whom he worked before winning the statewide election to become attorney general in 2015.

In a time of bitter partisanship this historic case is one of the rare instances where a party has attempted to hold a member of their own accountable for accusations of wrongdoing. Paxton was also rebuked by the impeachment, as he has gained national attention for his high-profile legal battles. He even tried to overturn 2020’s presidential election. In 2022, despite pending state criminal charges, he won a third-term despite an FBI investigation and long-pending state criminal accusations.

In May, the Republican-led House of Representatives unanimously voted to impeach Paxton. This was largely due to his former deputies’ allegations that Paxton used his position to assist a wealthy donor. The donor reciprocated by hiring a woman Paxton had a sexual affair with. The 20 articles of impeachment include abuses of public trust and unfitness for offices.

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The vote of 121-23 suspended Paxton immediately and made him the only third sitting official to be impeached in Texas’s nearly 200-year-old history.

Paxton has called the impeachment a “politically-motivated sham”, and a move to disenfranchise voters. Attorney general’s attorneys say that he will not testify at the Senate trial. He has stated that he expects acquittal.

Paxton will be tried by a jury of 31 state senators, a group that is stacked with his ideological supporters. The “judge” in this case will be Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Dan Patrick, a man who loaned him $125,000 for his last reelection bid.

Angela Paxton will be present at the trial, but she cannot vote or participate. Paxton’s allegations involve two other senators.

For conviction, a two-thirds vote — or 21 senators, is needed. This means that even if all of the 12 Senate Democrats voted against Paxton they would still need nine out of 19 Republicans to support them.

New evidence will most likely be presented at the trial. The allegations against Paxton have been known since 2020 when eight of his deputies informed the FBI of Paxton’s alleged crimes in order to assist Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.

Deputies, mainly conservatives who Paxton personally selected for their positions, told investigators Paxton went against their advice by hiring an outside attorney to investigate Paul’s claims of FBI wrongdoing in its investigation into the developer. The deputies also claimed that Paxton had pressured his staff into taking other actions to help Paul.

Paul, in return, hired an aide of a Republican State Senator with whom Paxton had an affair, and financed the renovations to one of the Attorney General’s properties, which was a million dollar home in Austin.

Paul was indicted on federal charges in June for making false statements to banks in order to obtain more than $170 millions in loans. He has pleaded not-guilty and denied any wrongdoings in his dealings Paxton.

According to a memo written by an FBI agent, the two men were united over the feeling that they had been the targets of corrupt police officers. Paxton has not yet been tried for securities fraud charges that were indicted in 2015. At least initially, the Senate will not be considering three articles of impeachment relating to the alleged securities scam and a forth article pertaining to Paxton’s ethical filings.

The federal prosecutors are still investigating Paul and Paxton’s relationship. Therefore, the evidence presented at his impeachment hearing poses both a legal and a political threat to the attorney general.

All eight of Paxton’s deputies resigned or were fired after going to the FBI. These departures caused a mass exodus of experienced lawyers, and the Attorney General’s Office was ravaged by corruption behind the scenes.

Paxton was sued by four of the deputies under the State Whistleblower Act.

The bipartisan group who led Paxton’s impeachment at the House claimed that it was his request for $3.3 million from taxpayers to settle with this group which prompted them investigate.