AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The first impeachment proceeding of a statewide official in more than a century kicked off Tuesday morning at the Texas Capitol, as the long-awaited Senate trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton got underway.
Tuesday saw oaths administered to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former appeals court justice Lana Myers who is serving as Patrick's legal counsel, and each of the 30 state senators who will serve as jurors in the trial.
The court spent much of the morning considering a number of pre-trial motions, more than a dozen filed by Paxton's attorneys seeking to dismiss one or more of the articles of impeachment. All of those motions failed to garner enough votes from the jurors. After a lunch break, the trial got underway with opening statements.
"Mr. Paxton should be removed from office because he failed to protect the state and instead used his elected office for his own benefit," said state Rep. Andrew Murr, serving as the chair of the House impeachment managers. "In Texas, we require more from our public servants than merely avoiding being a criminal."
Attorney Tony Buzbee, leading Paxton's defense, took the impeachment process to task throughout his opening remarks. "What could be less democratic than only 30 people deciding who should be the attorney general of Texas," Buzbee said. "The Texas House took away the votes of the over 4 million people who voted for Ken Paxton."
Tuesday wrapped up with the House managers calling their first witness - Jef Mateer, one of eight former Paxton aides who reported him to the FBI in 2020. His testimony came to a halt Tuesday afternoon after questions were raised about the admissibility of certain evidence into the record. Patrick is expected to make a ruling on the evidence Wednesday morning before Mateer's testimony resumes.
Paxton's team did win one ruling during the pre-trial motions, resolving a lingering fight over whether Paxton could be compelled to testify or not during the proceedings. Patrick, acting as the court's presiding officer, agreed with the defense, meaning Paxton will not be required to testify.
Following that decision and a lunch break, Paxton left the chamber and did not return for the afternoon session. It remains to be seen if he will return again during the course of the trial; the adopted trial rules required him to be present Tuesday morning but will not necessarily require his appearance for the remainder of the proceedings.
Each side will get a total of 24 hours to present its case, followed by a period for rebuttals and closing statements. Analysts say the trial could take a month or more to complete.
