By Richard Lee, Richard.Lee@senate.texas.gov
The House’s case, presented by attorneys Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin, centered on the testimony of several former top deputies at the Office of Attorney General, some of whom resigned in protest in October of 2020 after reporting allegations of bribery, abuse of office, and other offenses on the part of the attorney general to the FBI. They testified they had seen or otherwise had knowledge of the offenses alleged in the articles of impeachment. Those that didn’t quit further alleged they were fired or forced out of the office in violation of the state’s whistleblower laws.
The defense, led by attorneys Tony Buzbee and Dan Cogdell, cast the whistleblowers as disgruntled employees out for revenge or a payday. They called to the stand three current employees who testified that they saw none of the alleged acts or said that allegations that the attorney general acted improperly actually encompassed his legal authority.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who presided over the trial, was highly critical of the House process, taking to the president’s microphone after the verdict to call for changes to the state’s impeachment rules. “The Speaker and his team rammed through the first impeachment of a statewide official in over 100 years while paying no attention to the precedent that the House set in every other impeachment,” he said. In the past, Patrick said, the proceedings had been deliberate and open, that the accused was invited to give his own testimony and cross examine witnesses under oath. House members in the past were given weeks, he said, rather than hours to examine and consider the proposed articles of impeachment. Patrick said he wants to put a question on the ballot and ask voters to amend the constitution in accordance with those precedents. “Had they done those two things, this trial may never had happened,” he said.
On the part of the jurors, a number of senators put out statements saying that the House didn’t meet the high bar of proof required to remove a public official from office. “Simply put, the burden of proof – beyond a reasonable doubt – was not met,” read a statement from Georgetown Senator Charles Schwertner. “Impeachment is a powerful political tool that should be judiciously, thoughtfully, and rarely used.” He was one of 16 members who voted against every article of impeachment.
Before adjourning the trial, Patrick officially reinstated Paxton as the state’s top law enforcement officer. Paxton had been suspended from office for the duration of the proceedings.