Is anyone surprised?
On Saturday, Texas state senators voted to acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton on every one of the 16 articles of impeachment he was facing.
The Republican-controlled state House of Representatives voted to bring the charges. That body saw enough evidence for impeachment. The Republican-controlled state Senate apparently did not.
Paxton's supporters would argue the evidence was insufficient for conviction. That House prosecutors did not make their case.
Others would say the Senate was more concerned about the politics than justice. That they already had their minds made up to acquit because they did not want to anger conservative voters and wealthy donors who still stand behind the attorney general.
Readers can make up their own minds about the verdict. Let's just say -- as we did in an earlier editorial on the page -- we never thought there was much chance Republicans in the Senate to convict Paxton.
So, the attorney general is back in office, safe -- at least for now.
But the FBI is investigating Paxton on possible criminal charges related to the impeachment articles. And he is still under state indictment on fraud charges.
Will anything come from the investigation or state charges? We can't say. But Ken Paxton's legal troubles did not end with his impeachment acquittal.