Newsroom. Im jim acosta in washington. We begin with the breaking news and the surprise outcome of a republican versus republican political fight in the State Of Texas. Attorney general ken paxton is thanking his supporters and slamming what he calls the sham impeachment proceeding against him. Just a few hours ago the state senate voted to acquit paxton on 16 charges of abusing his office to help a donor. The Attorney General says now that the, quote, truth has prevailed he will get back to work defending the Constitutional Rights of texans, so he says. Ed lavandera joins me from the texas state house in austin. Ed, tell us more. Reporter hey, jim. The last few hours as reaction has been pouring in reacting to the acquittal of Attorney General ken paxton, it is exposing what can probably only be described as an allout civil war between various factions of the Republican Party here in texas. As weve mentioned just a short while ago, ken paxton was acquitted by the majority of republican senators in the texas senate on the 16 articles of impeachment that were brought against him. The remaining four were dismissed. So this is from the paxton camp is seen as a fullon vindication and a Resounding Vindication for the embattled Attorney General. Despite all of that, ken paxton is still facing serious legal issues. He still has an upcoming trial for state Financial Securities fraud, a trial that is perhaps could be starting here in the coming weeks. He is under federal investigation with fbi agents stemming from the investigation that brought these articles of impeachment against him. But his attorneys say that this acquittal today should send a strong message to his supporters. He still has the pending state case. I expect that in light of todays verdict to have some serious those people ought to think about Going Forward on that case. Thats been a bs case since day one. That case like this one should have never been brought. They ought to dismiss it. If they dont, well beat them there like we beat them here. The Attorney General is excited and ready to get back to work, and thats what hes going to do. Reporter as ken paxton is saying, outside of the statement he said hes planning to travel to the state of maine next week to interview with tucker carlson. And really what this has exposed, to get into the nitty gritty of the reaction of this, is that after the verdicts were read the republican lieutenant governor, dan patrick, spent several minutes just absolutely with a scathing critique of the House Republicans that brought and voted on these articles of impeachment, and that caused the speaker of the house, dave feelen, to issue a state here this afternoon saying it is clear that this the result of this trial is orchestrated from the getgo, essentially accusing senators of having votes p predetermined before listening to the evidence, and that the voters of texas, in his words were, quote, cheated out of justice. And one of the house Impeachment Managers said that this vote by republicans is essentially condoning corruption at the highest levels. Our lawyers, the board of managers presented overwhelming evidence that ken paxton is the most corrupt politician in the State Of Texas at this time, and the republicans in the texas senate just returned him to the office of top cop. I will rely on what i said on the floor of the texas house good help us. Reporter and jim, so what happens next you know, many of rightwing organizations in texas, political groups, Grassroots Groups that have been supporting Ken Backs Ton have been paxton have been vowing to go after republicans who voted against him. He only got two republican senators to convict him in these charges today, but this is expected to become a very tense situation for republicans, especially in the house, that voted to impeach ken paxton. So it will be interesting to watch Texas Politics in the next couple of years. Jim . All right, ed lavandera, thank you so much. Now to a big win for former President Donald Trump in his quest for the gop nomination and the crucial battleground state of florida. Last night republicans in that state scrapped their own gop Loyalty Pledge which mandated that candidates support the partys nominee. The move by the florida gop is seen as a major defeat for trumps closest rival in his home state, Governor Ron Desantis. This comes during another key battle involving the former president and as federal prosecutors ask for a narrowly tailored gag order on trump citing his social media attacks on people in the case, including the special counsel jack smith. The order would prevent trump from Making Statements that could be considered disparaging and inflammatory or intimidating. Lets go to des moines and jeff zeleny. Just four months away from the Iowa Caucuses. Prosecutors and politicians are having trouble reining in the former president. Reporter jim, there is no question the former President Donald Trump does hold a commanding lead in this republican president ial primary. As you said, four months exactly until the Iowa Caucuses open the republican nominating contest. Every candidate is in iowa this weekend with the exception of the former president. Of course he has a strong lead, but his rivals believe that there is an opening because voters are still making up their minds, they believe. And anecdotally talking to voters, that certainly is the case. Florida Governor Ron Desantis is in the church behind me here. The Fort Des Moines church of christ. Hell be speaking with a group of evangelical voters, and that is a central constituency, of course, in this republican iowa campaign. But earlier today as the Florida Governor was campaigning in western iowa, he made a pointed critique of the age of candidates in the race, as well as a bit of a veiled swipe at donald trump. I dont think the presidency can be successfully discharged by somebody thats 80 years old. This is nothing against 80 im the governor of florida, for petes sake. Ive got a lot of great 80yearolds. We do need a twoterm president , by the way. One lame duck is not going to cut it. Reporter and that twoterm president is something hes been talking about for a while. Of course if donald trump was reelected, he would only be able to constitutionally serve one term. So that is one of the arguments the Florida Governor has been making. But there is no doubt, jim, he and the rest of the republican field have their work cut out for them over the next several months here. There is a gathering of evangelical voters tonight in des moines where all of the candidates, with the exception of donald trump, will be making their case to iowa voters. We will see if the indictments, the charges have any effect on his support. The polls would suggest they have not. But electabilitiy is a central concern in every conversation with iowa voters. The history of iowa shows things can change late in a campaign. History is perhaps not our best guide. This year well see. For now, four months until iowa opens the 2024 campaign. Jim . All right. Jeff zeleny on the trail in iowa for us. Thanks. Great to see you as always. We appreciate it. Joining us with more is mark kaputo, reporter for The Messenger and expert on florida politics. Great to see you. Thanks for doing this. Lets start with Florida Republicans scrapping this loyalty oath. This is a big win for donald trump months before they even start voting in primaries like florida. Right. Its just a show of power and a show of force for trump. He didnt want the loyalty oath they instituted in may. He had his allies, a State Senator who had run afoul of desantis actually, months, maybe years ago, carry his effort to undo this loyalty oath. Desantis people decided to fight it and keep it. So desantis made it a test of wills, and trump cleaned his clock. And one of the difficulties that desantis is having is notching any wins anywhere. Its not happening in the polls in florida or in early states like iowa or nationally. Hes saddled with frequent bad headlines, you know, he had problems with his campaign, had a shakeup, money was tight. And then you have this which is just sort of a symbolic vote. Just a symbolic issue that was only fraught with sort of the emblematic battle between those two guys. And trump won handily at the Grassroots Level in florida. Really sent a message. Mark, it shows yet again that trump can do whatever he wants inside the Republican Party. What does this episode say about the national Republican Partys Loyalty Pledge . I mean, weve said it before about trump, loyalty is a oneway street when it comes to donald trump. Right. The other thing is is like trump doesnt like to be told what to do. He likes to fashion himself as the alpha male. So if a National Party or a state party wants him to do something that he doesnt want to do, hes not going to do it, and hes going to make it a show of force, and hes going to try to win. So far thats happening. One of the things that was interesting is in talking to the Republican Party of florida members who voted to scrap the very loyalty oath that they instituted in may at Donald Trumps behest, was one of the things that changed their mind is one of the things that you were talking about earlier. The indictments of donald trump. In the republican view, especially the grassroots view of the people i spoke, these indictments have produced this kind of rally around the chief or the future chief or the past chief effect. Where they said, look, everyones out to get donald trump, the dojs out to get him, we need back him. Our party cant be seen as fighting him. So thats a good example of how the indictments perversely, ironically, unexpectedly, at least in the primary, have been beneficial to trumps political goals. Now obviously his legal situation is a whole other kettle of fish. And i want to ask but that. Lets talk about the other big development. Federal prosecutors asking the judge in the federal case pertaining to jianuary 6th to place a court order on trump limiting what he can and cant say. Predictably trump reacted on Smoke Detector and in a speech last night social media and in a speech last night. Lets listen to this. They went to court to get an order that i cant speak you got to understand, im the leading candidate by 50 points, and im leading biden by a lot. And they want to see if they can silence me. So the media, the fake news, will ask me a question im sorry, i wont be able to answer that. How do you think we do in that election . Trump is claiming his First Amendment rights are being violated. Its good to hear him standing up for the First Amendment. Thats not always the case. Mark, its hard to see how trump abides by any kind of gag Order Limited or otherwise. Right. I mean, we were just talking a second ago about someone tries to pass a rule or limit him, he endeavors to defeat it. Back in june when he got indicted in the classified documents case in miami, i talked to roger stone who is a friend of his, who was pardoned by trump, who was gagged before his trial. And i asked stone, hey, look, most defendants are told to shut up when they get indicted. Donald trump does the opposite. What do you thinks going to happen . And he basically predicted this. He said trump is going to say what he wants to say, and hes essentially going to dare the federal government to try to gag him to prove that this is a political prosecution and persecution, not a traditional prosecution. Again, thats their perception. But whats instructive about what roger stone said is stone knows the mind of trump. So on one hand this looks completely insane. The other hand, there might be some sort of sick genius at play here. Its one of those debates for people who watch donald trump like is he a master chess player, or is he eating the checkers . You know, were going to find out at the end of both of these, both the primary, the general election, all three of these, and the various criminal cases. But i mean, the chances are, judging by what judge chutkan has said so far, i could see her see this being more likely than not that shes going approve some sort of gag order, and i can see more likely than not donald trump breaking it. But you know, thats justice speculation. Who knows whats going to happen . If you would have told me to 2015 that or before, that a president ial candidate would be indicted four times in four separate cases at state and federal levels and that his Support Level would increase in his party, i would have told you were insane. Thats what were looking at. No question about it. And mark, what are you hearing from sources in florida about whether or not anybody in this field can stop donald trump . And getting back to this florida Loyalty Pledge situation, what does this say about ron desantis . Because ron desantis in just about every poll is the closest republican candidate in polling in terms of being able to take out trump. In his own state finishes the florida Republican Party in his own state isnt going to side with desantis, that says a lot, doesnt it in . Thats one of the reasons that this symbolic vote was so important to both sides, but especially trump and why its mystified people like me that desantis decided to put Skin In The Game by having lieutenant governor, the Florida House speaker, and ally keep the loyalty oath. Another surprising thing was some of the grassroots republicans on the Republican Party of florida executive board, 39member board that voted in favor of stripping the loyalty oath on behalf of trump, a few of them said on the record ron desantis need to drop out of the race and endorse donald trump. All of them did. Its very surprising in a state where ron desantis in 2022 i mean in november, however many months ago, 11 months ago, eight months ten months ago yeah he won this state by almost 20 percentage points. A massive margin. And now hes trailing badly both in his own state and nationwide in early states. Yeah. And theyre bending to donald trump. Theres just no question about it. Whats taking place in florida and other crucial states around the country. Mark, great to see you as always. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thanks, jim. I appreciate it. Bye. Thank you. Still ahead, close to striking a deal. That is the question. An update on where talks stand to resolve an unprecedented autoworkers strike. Plus, President Biden facing an Impeachment Inquiry and his son hunter indicted on gun charges. Well ask a member of congress how the president and Democratic Party should navigate all of this. And later on, better luck next year . What quarterback Aaron Rodgers is saying about his seasonending injury and questions over the 39yearolds ability to make a comeback. The legendary bob costas will join us for that discussion. Thats coming up in a little bit. Stay with us. Youre live in the cnn newsroom. Save up to 30 now for a limited time. Whether youre moving g across town or across the country. Save up to 30 at popods. Com today. You were always so dedicated. We worked hard to bui up the shop, save for college and our retirement. Thanks to our advisor and. Now i see who l that hard work was for. It was always for you. Seeing you carry on our legacy im so proud. At vanguard, youre more than just an investor, youre an owner. Setting up the future for the ones you love. Thats the value of ownership. Mac and cheese lovers rejoice. Dive into the Melty Gooey Goodness of Bob Evans Mac and cheese. Tender macaroni smothered in real cheese. Ready in just minutes with the delicious taste, bob evans is known for. Bring home the warm, gooey goodness of mac and cheese today. Your record label is taking off. But so is your sound engineer. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. Indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. Visit indeed. Com hire were not writers, but we help you shape your financial story. Were not an airline, but our Network Connects global businesses across nearly 160 markets. Were not a startup, but our Innovation Labs use new technologies to help keep your information secure. Were not architects, but we help build stronger communities. Were not just any bank. We are citi. We all have obstacles, challenges, at different points in life. I still push myself every single day. The harder i push myself, the more i find myself drawn to wearing oofos. The first time i put on a pair of oofos, it was like someone released the pressure it was so crazy. When you are recovered, and can do more, that has a Compounding Effect on all aspects of your life. Stepping into a pair of oofos, theyre truly one of a kind. Theres nothing like t