AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After meeting behind closed doors for close to seven hours Tuesday, the Texas Senate recessed without agreeing on proposed rules for how the upcoming impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton will work.
The Senate is scheduled to reconvene Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.
A committee made up of seven senators was assigned the task of forming the rules for how the Senate trial will operate. The panel was expected to present its recommendations to the full Senate on Tuesday.
The rules could dictate everything from the duration of the trial, the rules of evidence and witness examination, as well as whether Paxton’s wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, would be required to recuse herself.
The decision on the rules could significantly impact Paxton’s prospects of keeping his position in an impending trial, which Lt. Governor Dan Patrick vowed to begin by Aug. 28 at the latest.
While state senators — who will serve as a jury — will vote whether or not to convict or acquit Paxton, no aspect of the trial will include criminal charges. While attorneys have often compared the impeachment process to criminal trials in the judicial system, Texas lawmakers are only weighing Paxton’s fitness for office. A Senate vote to impeach would mean immediate removal from office for the suspended attorney general.
Paxton is the first state attorney general to be impeached in Texas history. Following an overwhelming 121-23 vote in the Texas House, Paxton has been temporarily relieved of his duties pending a trial in the Senate on 20 articles of impeachment. The allegations against him include bribery, abuse of office and obstruction. Throughout his time in office, the Republican has faced controversies and criminal charges hanging over his tenure.
The trial will feature a star-studded legal team on both sides — with Houston criminal defense attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin prosecuting the case on behalf of the House impeachment managers, and Tony Buzbee working as the lead defense attorney for Paxton.
Buzbee has asserted the House impeachment proceedings were marred by significant flaws, arguing that the Senate should toss out the trial. The Houston lawyer is asking senators to vote on rules that would allow a summary proceeding, in which senators would quickly vote on impeachment based on the evidence thus far.
Buzbee said he is ready to fight and is not opposed to having the trial altogether, but has not been pleased with how the House presented the case.
“We are put in a position where we’re going to spend five, six months disproving what should have never been brought in in the first place,” he said. “Because we know that the way it was done in the House was not fair.”
Buzbee, along with other supporters of Paxton, said the attorney general did not have an opportunity to defend himself throughout the process and argue it overturns the will of voters, considering many of these allegations have been public since the time he was first elected in 2015.
DeGuerin and Hardin have applauded the Republican-majority House for how it has handled the impeachment. While the two have described the evidence they’ve seen against Paxton as “ten times worse” than the public already knows, both continue to stress the need for a transparent and fair trial.
“They’re merely accusations at this point, until the evidence is presented in the Senate. But the accusations are very, very serious,” DeGuerin told Nexstar. “But it’s striking. It’s solid evidence. It’s very compelling. That’s why I am pretty confident about the senators doing what’s right.”
DeGuerin, Hardin and Buzbee have all expressed desire to call witnesses and cross-examine them. They said they hope the Senate will create rules that provide for an open and fair process.
“The people of the state of Texas are going to be watching,” DeGuerin said. “This is going to be a public trial. And every one of those senators knows that their constituents are watching.”
Texas Senate proposes $18B property tax relief compromise
The Texas Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed the most expensive property tax relief package yet as the standoff between top leaders in the state continues.
Senate Bill 26 by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt would spend more than $18 billion of the state’s budget surplus on three different mechanisms aimed at lowering property tax bills, adding another $400 million to the previous plans.
The new proposal preserves the Senate’s top priority of raising the homestead exemption to $100,000, the most direct benefit to homeowners and the major sticking point between the upper chamber and Gov. Greg Abbott. It also dedicates $400 million more towards buying down school district property tax rates, the strategy Abbott prefers exclusively.
Senators’ latest offer comes after weeks of a stalemate between the upper chamber and the governor, who supports the House plan of rate compression passed on the first full day of the special legislative session. Even during the regular session, top Republicans wrestled for months over how to cut property taxes with Texas’ historic budget surplus of $33 billion.
Renae Eze, spokesperson for Abbott, did not signal openness to the new Senate proposal on Tuesday — again emphasizing that the governor wants to see a reduction in taxes through rate compression, in which the state gives more money to school districts so they in turn can lower their tax rates. Abbott has said he believes this is the best pathway toward fulfilling his goal of ultimately eliminating property taxes.
“The Governor has been clear that his goal is to put Texans on a pathway to eliminate their school M&O property taxes, and the best way to do that is to devote all property tax relief to cutting property tax rates. The Governor has also been clear that the only way a property tax bill gets to his desk is for the Texas House and Texas Senate to agree to a bill and get it to the Governor’s desk, and he encourages the two chambers to work towards a solution,” Eze said in a statement.