Impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could end this week

Looks like predictions that the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton might stretch on for weeks may have missed the mark.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Texas Senate, told lawmakers Monday that the trial to remove Paxton from office may wrap up by the end of the week, according to a Texas Tribune report.

When the trial got underway on Sept. 5, the House impeachment managers — who are prosecuting the case — and the defense each had an allotment of 24 hours to make their cases and grill witnesses. As of Monday night, the prosecution had a little more than nine hours left and Paxton’s defense team had slightly more than 12, the Tribune reports.

At that pace, it looks increasingly unlikely the sides will exhaust their combined list of nearly 150 subpoenaed witnesses, according to the Tribune.

For those saddened to see the popcorn-munching legal wrangling around Paxton come to an end, there’s always his upcoming criminal trial on felony securities fraud charges. And — if a recent Austin-American Statesman report is to be believed — we may be able to follow whatever comes out of a San Antonio grand jury empaneled by federal prosecutors to hear evidence about the embattled AG. 

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This article appears in Sep 6-19, 2023.