Multiple senators described deliberations that began in good faith but turned toward an acquittal consensus as political calculation set in.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, center, bows his head in prayer as state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, leads the Senate in prayer during the fifth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Senate chamber at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Sept. 11.In the closing arguments of the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, Rep.
“I feel there were six senators who were ready to be the 21st vote,” said Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas. “But they didn’t want to be the 20th vote.” Another one of the five was Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston, who had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to two of Paxton’s primary challengers in 2022. Middleton has been conspicuously quiet since the verdict — he did not respond to a request for comment, and he had not publicized any explanation of his vote as of Wednesday afternoon.that Huffman and Middleton were among multiple senators who considered voting to convict but ultimately declined.
And then there was Patrick, the all-powerful lieutenant governor who presided over the trial and made an effort to show his impartiality, impressing even some of his sketics along the way. But he took $3 million from a pro-Paxton group in June, and any of his skeptics’ optimism crumbled when they saw him conclude the trial by giving a fiery speech denouncing the House impeachment process.
Johnson said he thought most senators had “very strong leanings” by the end of closing arguments but wanted to return to the evidence to address “lingering questions” or confirm things they had heard. He said some of the conversations among senators were “more earnest than others” and he had “some really good, patient conversations with several members, including Republicans.
In the 5 p.m. hour, a poll was taken of who was ready to vote. Bettencourt said a “substantial minority” was not ready — “including people in all the camps” — so they kept deliberating. Another senator confirmed Bettencourt’s account. Senators apparently were cleared, as several were seen leaving the Capitol before the 8 p.m. end time that Patrick had given them.
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