Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin said his team was naive in its belief that “principle would win out over politics.”

Attorney General Ken Paxton is back on the job after the Republican majority in the Texas Senate cleared him of any wrongdoing. Over the course of his two-week trial, Paxton's former top deputies—all conservatives he hired—testified that he abused the power of his office to help campaign donor Nate Paul and himself at the public's expense.

House Speaker Dade Phelan wrote an op-ed for his hometown newspaper, saying the “fix was in from the start,” while other Republican officials are calling for Phelan’s resignation.

In a radio interview Thursday, Paxton said he's "highly motivated" to take out House Speaker Dade Phelan and Reps. Andrew Murr and Jeff Leach.