The five-term House member, and his mustache, gained notoriety during the high-profile impeachment of Paxton. He warned tolerating corruption could hurt Republicans in the long term.
Zach Despart
Zach Despart is an enterprise and investigative reporter focusing on state government. His work on a team investigating the flawed police response to the Uvalde school shooting was awarded the 2024 Collier Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting. He led the Tribune’s effort to become the first news organization to map the fragmented 50-mile Texas border wall, a project that also found the state struggled with holdout landowners along the route. After it was published, the Legislature stopped funding the wall. He previously covered Harris County for the Houston Chronicle, where he reported on corruption, elections, disaster preparedness and the region’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey. His investigation on how Texas diverted Harvey aid away from areas most at risk for storms sparked a federal investigation. An upstate New York native, he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and film from the University of Vermont.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Special session on school vouchers begins with Republicans in disarray
Gov. Greg Abbott needs a delicate coalition of Republicans to pass his top priority. But the House and Senate leaders aren’t getting along.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Ken Paxton blasts fellow Republicans and floats Cornyn challenge in post-impeachment interview
In his first remarks since being acquitted on 16 articles of impeachment, the suspended Texas attorney general blamed Democrats while also taking aim at a number of high-profile Republicans.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Ken Paxton’s prosecutors stumbled at times. But did it matter in the GOP-dominated Senate?
The House impeachment managers faced a high bar: convincing enough Republican senators to vote against their own political self-interest.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton acquitted on all 16 articles of impeachment
Only two of 19 Republican Senators voted in favor of convicting for any article — a stark contrast to the more than 70% of House Republicans who impeached the attorney general in May.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Paxton trial updates, Sept. 15: Senators leave Capitol without an impeachment verdict
Deliberations are expected to resume at 9 a.m. Saturday. Paxton is accused of misusing his office to help a friend and donor who was under federal investigation.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Paxton defense calls charges “foolishness,” House argues AG “betrayed us” in closing impeachment arguments
Senators begin deliberating in private after defense lawyers and impeachment managers make impassioned pleas after two weeks of trial.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Paxton trial updates, Sept. 14: AG supervisor refutes whistleblower claims
Watch a livestream of the attorney general’s impeachment trial and get the latest updates as senators weigh his political future.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
The House has rested its case against Ken Paxton after a chaotic day for the prosecution
The House prosecutors failed to call a star witness and battled with the defense attorneys over allegations the suspended attorney general had been bribed by Nate Paul.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Paxton trial, Sept. 13: Woman in alleged affair with Paxton planned to plead the Fifth, doesn’t testify
Watch a livestream of the attorney general’s impeachment trial and get the latest updates as senators weigh his political future.
