Senators deliberate for several hours in 9th day of Ken Paxton impeachment trial
UPDATE 7:48 P.M.: Senators are done for the night. They will return back at 9 a.m. Saturday to deliberate.
UPDATE 7:12 P.M.: Some senators have been seen leaving the Capitol; however, staff is still saying they will still be deliberating until 8 p.m. Friday.
UPDATE 11:55 A.M.: Both sides have now finished closing arguments. Senators are now going into private deliberations. They've been instructed to work until at least 8 p.m. tonight. It's unclear how long deliberations will last.
"You have serious work to do," Lt. Gov. Patrick tells them.
UPDATE 11:25 A.M.: Returning to continue closing arguments for House impeachment managers, Murr went through each article of impeachment, relating them to testimony given during the trial.
Murr described the events that led the whistleblowers to go to the FBI, saying that when Paxton's top deputies began talking to each other about their experiences they put the puzzle pieces together and believed they had a serious problem.
"Mr. Paxton had allowed Nate Paul to infect their office at the highest level," he said.
UPDATE 11 A.M.: Trial has resumed.
UPDATE 10:50 A.M.: Trial is on a short break.
UPDATE 10 A.M.: Tony Buzbee began closing arguments for Paxton's defense team by calling it a shame that "this case … with no evidence" is taking place.
"If this can happen to him, it can happen to anyone," he said of Paxton.
He said the prosecution managers didn't prove anything except "they don't like Ken Paxton."
"This has been a political witch hunt within the Republican Party," Buzbee said.
Buzbee pushed back on the specific articles and said the House managers "don't have anything." He accused them of wasting taxpayer money during their months-long investigation.
He also referred to the FBI investigation that began in 2020 when Paxton's former top deputies went to the agency, saying the FBI has done nothing because there's nothing to do.
"He is proud and he is ready to go back to work," Buzbee said. "And after this is done, I expect he will be back to work."
When Cogdell took his turn, he said that he has been representing Paxton for eight years and the fact that the House impeachment managers didn't call him during their investigation proves they were "more invested in the conclusion than the investigation."
UPDATE 9:40 A.M.: During closing arguments Friday morning, Republican Rep. Andrew Murr, Chair of the House Board of Impeachment Managers, said Senators have a "heavy and solid responsibility" and "the House did not come here lightly."
He went on to say the constitution requires lawmakers police their own.
Murr also called Paxton out for not being in the Senate chamber for the majority of the trial: "He said he wants the truth … but he hasn't even been here the whole trial," he said. "Clearly he thinks he gets away with this."
"He (Paxton) has betrayed us and the people of Texas, and if he's given the opportunity, he will continue to abuse the power given to him," Murr said.
UPDATE 9:30 A.M.: Friday morning, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick went through the trial rules before closing arguments, calling this an "unusual proceeding" and "not a usual trial."
Each side has one hour to deliver closing arguments. Following closing arguments, senators will deliberate. While deliberations will happen in private, voting will happen in public. Patrick said the public will be given at least 30 minutes notice before that happened.
Twenty-one senators are needed to convict Paxton and he will be immediately removed from office if he's convicted on any of the 16 articles he's facing in this trial.
UPDATE 9 A.M.: Paxton and some of the whistleblowers are present at the trial this morning.
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Closing arguments are set to begin Friday morning in the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Day eight of Paxton's impeachment trial was relatively quiet and drama free compared to Wednesday's twists and turns.
But for the first time, senators heard from witnesses brought forth by Paxton's defense team to challenge the articles of impeachment. After questioning four witnesses, the defense rested their case.
The defense questioned witnesses specifically about several of the articles of impeachment the attorney general is facing.
The attorney general office's HR director, Henry De La Garza, was questioned about the firing of whistleblowers. He said it was not retaliatory.
During cross-examination, Austin Kinghorn, associate deputy general for legal counsel at the attorney general's office, was pressed on who he serves in his position at the attorney general's office. He stated he serves the people of Texas and the attorney general.
Wednesday morning, House impeachment managers requested a change to the Senate's trial rules. They wanted to make it so that if Paxton is convicted, he would be automatically disqualified from serving office in Texas ever again.
Watch the trial live in the player above or on the CBS News Texas YouTube channel.
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