Statement from Attorney Rusty Hardin on Impeachment Trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton 

AUSTIN, Texas – The following is a statement from attorney Rusty Hardin on the outcome of the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

 

I want to praise the Texas House of Representatives and their appointed House managers for having the courage to bring this case and to show the people of Texas the multiple instances of misconduct and the attorney general’s abuse of his office. 

 

The career prosecutors and investigators that investigated and presented the evidence to the House deserve equal credit. 

 

When the House voted in a bipartisan way to recommend impeachment to the Senate, they made a non-political decision in a highly charged political atmosphere. They put duty above politics and earned our well-deserved respect. 

 

The House managers, through their lawyers, presented an overwhelming factual case of wrongdoing and abuse of office. Mr. Paxton, who so loudly claimed he was unaware of the evidence against him, chose not to attend his own trial.  

 

If this were a regular jury trial, Mr. Paxton would have been convicted without hesitation. But this wasn’t a regular jury trial, it was a political trial.  

 

Today’s vote ignores an extraordinary trail of misconduct, all factually proven. The senators chose to ignore all that evidence and return the attorney general to office. 

 

We can’t change the outcome, but we can continue to praise the whistleblowers who had the courage to come forward. They are not only victims, but also heroes. Our heartfelt thanks go out to them and to the House and its board of managers who had the courage to come forward with this evidence at great political and personal risk.