Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton impeaches the Republican-controlled State House

[ad_1]

Subscribe to the Inside Washington daily email to get exclusive US coverage and analysis delivered to your inbox. Get our free email from Inside Washington

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been impeached by the GOP-controlled Texas State House in a historic vote.

The vote came after Paxton was accused of threatening his colleagues with a political response if they supported his impeachment measures.

State Representative Charlie Gearin, who like Mr. Paxton is a member of the Republican Party, said that “several members of this House while on the grounds of this House, while doing state business, have received phone calls from General Paxton personally, threatening them with political consequences in their upcoming elections. According to the Texas Tribune.

Mr. Gerin made the allegation during opening remarks at the Texas State House hearing. The 73-year-old rejected Paxton’s claims that impeachment is a witch hunt and that the whistleblowers behind a lawsuit against him are “political” appointees.

Mr. Geren, who sits on the House Public Investigating Committee, reiterated what the committee said in the articles of impeachment filed against Mr. Paxton, that the committee would not have investigated the case if he had not filed a motion that the legislature greenlight a $3.3 million settlement to the former employees.

“We’re here today because the attorney general has asked the state legislature to fund a multimillion-dollar settlement,” Gerin said. There was no investigation before this time. We wanted to dig deeper into the reasons behind this.”

Gerin went on to say that the settlement was Mr Paxton trying to hide the possibility of wrongdoing.

“This settlement served to avert prosecution, including a discovery process that could have shed light on new information,” he said.

Paxton has long been accused of violating the standards of his office, which he has held since 2015, and before that he served in the Texas State Senate between 2013 and 2015 and before that in the Texas State House from 2003 until 2013.

On Saturday, GOP members of the Texas House of Representatives presented their case to impeach Paxton, arguing that he used his role to benefit himself and his campaign donors and that he should be brought to trial in the state Senate for a range of abuses. The New York Times noted that this was the first statewide impeachment vote in Texas since 1917.

Paxton is the third Texas statewide office holder to be impeached in the state’s nearly two-century history, according to the Associated Press.

Former President Donald Trump issued a statement supporting Mr. Paxton on the Truth Social channel before the vote, writing that “RINO Chairman of the Texas House of Representatives Dade Phelan, hardly ever a Republican and failing the voter integrity test, wants to impeach one of the most hardworking prosecutors.” And effectively in the United States, Ken Paxton, who just won re-election with so many American Patriots voting for him.”

“You would think that any issue would have been decided entirely by Texas voters, especially when that vote was so crucial,” Trump added.

The GOP-controlled state house committee that pushed forward the process against Paxton lifted 20 articles of impeachment this week, unanimously finding him unfit to hold office, and sent the case to the full state house.

Republican Representative David Speller said Mr. Paxton used his office to help the donor, an Austin real estate investor, campaign as is.

“Attorney General Paxton has consistently and flagrantly violated laws and procedures,” Speller said, according to The New York Times. “Today is a very dark and difficult day for this House and for the State of Texas.”

The impeachment vote required only a simple majority in the House of Representatives.

Paxton, 60, has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. He has been a strong supporter of conservative legal issues and a key fighter for the Biden administration on issues like the Affordable Care Act and immigration.

He won a third term last year after defeating George P. Bush, son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush, in a Republican primary in May 2022.

The allegations against him have become part of the campaign, and Mr. Paxton has accused the Republican House leadership of working with Democrats to remove him from office.

Paxton will now be temporarily removed from his position as head of the case to the Senate for his trial, where a number of his key allies, such as his wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, will be jurors.

Governor Greg Abbott is now able to appoint a temporary replacement pending trial.

[ad_2]