Texas Senate begin deliberations at Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial

By PAUL J. WEBER, JIM VERTUNO and JAKE BLEIBERG
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate has begun deliberations over whether impeached Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton should be removed from office. Paxton faces 16 articles of impeachment over allegations that he abused his power as Texas’ top lawyer to protect a donor who was under FBI investigation. The three-term incumbent has denounced the impeachment as politically motivated. His future is in the hands of a Republican Senate majority that includes his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, although she will not have a vote in the verdict.