The GOP senate took a surprisingly long time to conclude its deliberations, which suggests there was a lot of arm twisting needed to get Paxton off. But the results are still depressing. I watched almost the entire trial and the evidence could not have been more damning. Most of it came from far-right conservatives, such as Paxton's former top assistant Jeff Mateer, who was rejected for a federal judgeship for being too conservative.

The Texas House prosecutors closed with a moving speech by Paxton’s former friend and far-right conservative, Rep. Ken Leach. You can watch it above. Only a corrupt group of cowards could disregard the evidence against Paxton in order to let their crony off. But this is where we are today. Let’s hope the Christian Values folks are taking good notice.

Paxton will no doubt take a nauseating, sore-winner victory lap with Tucker Carlson next week, and God only knows what kind of retaliation he will engage in against the Republicans who voted against him. But he’s still in a lot of legal hot water:

From The Washington Post:

Paxton faces an array of legal troubles beyond the impeachment. Besides the federal investigation for the same allegations that gave rise to his impeachment, he also faces a bar disciplinary proceeding over his effort to overturn the 2020 election and has yet to stand trial on state securities fraud charges dating to 2015.

Make no mistake: The Texas senate, along with everyone else, knows Paxton is guilty. But they’re going to let the “Biden DOJ" do their dirty work. Then they will either dump Paxton or turn further against the federal government. It all depends on which way the wind and their donors are blowing.