AUSTIN -- Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick declined to say if enough senators would vote to remove Attorney General Ken Paxton from office should the Capitol's high chamber hold an impeachment trial.
The Texas House is poised to vote on articles of impeachment for Paxton, which include allegations of bribery and other misconduct, in the coming days. If a majority of members endorse the move, the Senate then would hold a trial to determine whether to remove Paxton from office.
"Would you go to a judge and say, 'Judge, can you tell me how the case is going to turn out?'" Patrick, a Republican, said in an interview with WFAA. "We will all be responsible as any juror would be if that turns out to be, and I think the members will do their duty.
Patrick, who leads the Senate as its president and is among the most conservative members of the Legislature, would preside over the trial but would not have a vote.
Republicans hold a 19-12 majority in the Senate, and 21 senators -- two-thirds -- are needed for removal. Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, is Paxton's wife, and it's unclear if she would have to recuse herself. She has not commented publicly on the latest legal troubles facing her husband.
Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and several other top Republicans have stayed mostly silent on the potential ouster of one most powerful and conservative elected officials in Texas.
In the interview, Patrick was not asked about the nearly two dozen accusations of misconduct levied against Paxton. "Well see how that develops, but I can't really say any other comments on it," Patrick said.
The panel's 20 articles of impeachment were distributed to lawmakers in the House shortly before the lower chamber adjourned for the day late Thursday. They include accusations of bribery, obstruction of justice and abuse of the public trust over a stretch of several years.
It's unclear when the House would vote on whether to impeach the three-term attorney general, who has faced years of legal woes.
Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction City, and chair of the five-member House Committee on General Investigating, said he would call on the House to vote on whether to impeach Paxton after a "period of time" but did not elaborate.
A vote could happen this weekend, in part, because the end of the legislative session is Monday.
If the House does not take a vote on impeachment before sine die -- the formal end of session -- then it only come back for impeachment proceedings by proclamation of the governor, a majority of the House or by the speaker if petitioned in writing by 50 or more House members, according to state law.
If the House, where Republicans hold an 85-64 edge, impeaches Paxton, then the Senate would be forced to hold the trial after session, according to state law. The Senate can also schedule the trial for a later date.
Paxton has strongly denied the allegations and is on the offensive, saying House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, is a liberal and that Republicans in the Legislature are collaborating with President Joe Biden.
"It is a sad day for Texas as we witness the corrupt political establishment unite in this illegitimate attempt to overthrow the will of the people and disenfranchise the voters of our state," Paxton said in a statement tweeted by his agency's official account.
(Austin bureau reporter Lauren McGaughy contributed to this report)