AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pleaded innocent Tuesday at the outset of his impeachment trial in the state Senate but then left early, as Republicans confronted whether to oust one of President Donald Trump's biggest defenders after years of claims of scandal and corruption.
His absence did not stop Texas' first impeachment trial in nearly half a century but demonstrated the potential twists ahead in a case that could drag on for weeks. Some television stations in Texas aired the start of the historic proceedings live, but inside the state capitol there were plenty of empty seats for onlookers to spread out.
In an era of bitter partisanship across the U.S., the trial is a rare instance of a political party seeking to hold one of its own to account for allegations of wrongdoing. For years in Texas, many Republicans have resisted criticizing or facing head-on the litany of legal troubles surrounding Paxton, who has remained popular among the hard right by aligning himself closely to Trump and rushing his office into lawsuits that have halted priorities of the Biden administration.
If convicted, Paxton could be barred from holding elected office in Texas.
"Mr. Paxton should be removed from office because he failed to protect the state and instead used his elected office for his own benefit," said Republican state Rep. Andrew Murr, one of the House impeachment managers leading the case against Paxton.
"In Texas, we require more from our public servants than merely avoiding being a criminal," he said.
The proceedings got off to a bumpy start for Paxton, with Republican senators rejecting his numerous requests to dismiss many of the 20 impeachment charges. He then left before opening arguments, and it was not clear whether he intended to return, although Paxton is not required to attend the entire proceedings.
As the articles of impeachment were formally read aloud, Paxton's attorney, Tony Buzbee, answered the charges by calling them untrue or incorrect and saying his client pleads innocent . He later used his opening statements to launch into a litany of grievances against the news media, the Texas House of Representatives that impeached Paxton in May and the special prosecutors who have pursued Paxton for years on state charges of securities fraud.
At the heart of the case are accusations that Paxton abused his office to help one of his donors, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was indicted this summer on charges of making false statements to a bank to secure more than $170 million in loans.
Buzbee said Paxton "gave nothing of significance" to Paul and framed the proceedings as an attempt to overturn the will of voters.
"What could be less democratic than only 30 people deciding who should be the attorney general of Texas," Buzbee said. "The Texas House took away the votes of the over 4 million people who voted for Ken Paxton."
In one victory for Paxton, the presiding officer ruled that he cannot be compelled to testify during the proceedings, which could last for weeks.
Paxton's political future is in the hands of the state Senate, where a dominant Republican majority includes Paxton's wife, underscoring the many entanglements of Paxton's case. Sen. Angela Paxton can attend the trial but is barred from voting on whether her husband should be convicted or acquitted.
Shortly before the trial began, Ken and Angela Paxton spoke for a few minutes on the Senate floor and shared a brief kiss.
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach Paxton in May. The 20 articles of impeachment include abuse of public trust, unfitness for office and bribery. The 121-23 vote immediately suspended Paxton and made him only the third sitting official in Texas' nearly 200-year history to be impeached.