By JAKE BLEIBERG and PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pleaded not guilty Tuesday at the outset of his impeachment trial in the state Senate but then left early, as Republicans confronted whether to oust one of President Donald Trump’s biggest defenders after years of alleged scandal and corruption.

His absence did not stop Texas’ first impeachment trial in nearly half a century but demonstrated the potential twists ahead in a case that could drag on for weeks. Some television stations in Texas aired the start of the historic proceedings live, but inside the state Capitol there were plenty of empty seats for onlookers to spread out.

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In an era of bitter partisanship across the U.S., the trial is a rare instance of a political party seeking to hold one of its own to account for allegations of wrongdoing. For years in Texas, many Republicans have resisted criticizing or facing head-on the litany of legal troubles surrounding Paxton, who has remained popular among the hard right by aligning himself closely to Trump and rushing his office into lawsuits that have halted priorities of the Biden administration.

If convicted, Paxton could be barred from holding elected office in Texas.

“Mr. Paxton should be removed from office because he failed to protect the state and instead used his elected office for his own benefit,” said Republican state Rep. Andrew Murr, one of the House impeachment managers leading the case against Paxton.

“In Texas, we require more from our public servants than merely avoiding being a criminal,” he said.

The proceedings got off to a bumpy start for Paxton, with Republican senators rejecting his numerous requests to dismiss many of the 20 impeachment charges. He then left before opening arguments and it was not clear whether he intended to return, although Paxton is not required to attend the entire proceedings.

As the articles of impeachment were formally read aloud, Paxton’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, answered the charges by calling them untrue or incorrect and saying his client pleads not guilty. He later used his opening statements to launch into a litany of grievances against the news media, the Texas House of Representatives that impeached Paxton in May and the special prosecutors who have pursued Paxton for years on state charges of securities fraud.