'There was no bias' Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick defends Senate acquittal of Ken Paxton in one-on-one interview

The presider of the impeachment trial against Attorney General Ken Paxton is speaking out freely now that the gag order is over, defending the Texas Senate's process as "unbiased" while slamming the House's initial decision to impeach in late May.

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The presider of the impeachment trial against Attorney General Ken Paxton is speaking out freely now that the gag order is over, defending the Texas Senate's process as "unbiased" while slamming the House's initial decision to impeach in late May.

In a one-on-one interview with Nexstar, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick responded to claims that Republican senators' decision to acquit their former colleague are "totally untrue and ludicrous." Senators voted to find Paxton not guilty on every charge, mostly on a 14-16 vote.

"Anyone that criticizes that process, well, that's on them because we did it right," Patrick told Nexstar in a one-on-one interview. "I didn't think they would convict on many charges, but I thought maybe one or two possibly so I had to be prepared for that."

Only two Republicans — North Texas’ Kelly Hancock and Jacksonville’s Robert Nichols — voted to convict Paxton on any of the charges. All other Republicans voted to find Paxton not guilty on every charge and Democrats voted guilty on almost all articles of impeachment.

This is a developing story, check back for updates. Capitol Correspondent Monica Madden will have a full report on KXAN at 10 p.m.