AUSTIN, Texas — All eyes are on the Texas State Capitol today as the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton gets underway.
Prosecutors said this is about holding an allegedly corrupt official accountable. The suspended attorney general calls it a politically motivated sham.
Watch the impeachment trial live on 12News beginning at 8:55 a.m. or stream it live on 12NewsNow.com, the 12NewsNow app, or 12News+ on Roku, FireTV and Apply TV.
In just a few hours, the Senate chamber in the Capitol will become a courtroom. Paxton’s political future will be in the hands of state senators.
This all stems from corruption, bribery, and obstruction of justice allegations against Paxton during his role as the attorney general. Here’s what we expect for the start of the impeachment trial.
Ken Paxton impeachment trial coverage
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First, senators will consider more than a dozen articles of impeachment and decide whether or not to toss them out. Paxton’s attorneys filed a motion calling for 16 of the 20 articles to be dismissed.
Once that is done, it will be time for opening statements. Prosecutors and Paxton’s lawyers get 60 minutes each.
After opening statements are complete, the presentation of evidence gets underway. This is the longest part of the trial with each side getting 24 hours.
While the Texas Constitution outlines aspects of impeachment, the reality is these are rarely chartered waters as Paxton is just the third person to be impeached in state history.
How to watch the impeachment trial online
12News will stream gavel-to-gavel coverage of the impeachment trial. You can watch it live on 12News+ on Roku, FireTV or AppleTV for free. You can also download the free 12NewsNow app to watch it there. And we'll be streaming the trial live each day on 12NewsNow.com and will have full coverage every day on 12News
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