Senate deliberating Paxton motion to dismiss articles of impeachment

After seven days of long, grueling testimony in the impeachment trial of suspended attorney general Ken Paxton, House lawyer Rusty Hardin rested his case.

But he did it accidentally, setting off a bizarre and unexpected chain of events that could potentially end the impeachment trial earlier than anticipated.

Hardin admitted that he accidentally rested too early before Paxton’s lawyers could cross-examine the last witness, Blake Brickman, one of the whistleblowers.

Paxton lawyer Tony Buzbee declined to press to cross-examine Brickman and instead quickly moved for a directed verdict, arguing that House managers had not sufficiently proved the articles of impeachment. The written motions challenged every article singly or in groups, he said.