Texas House to vote Saturday on impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton

Why Texas attorney general Ken Paxton faces impeachment and what's next - The Washington Post

The Texas House plans to vote on the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton at 1 p.m. on Saturday, according to a memo released Friday by House Speaker Dade Phelan’s office.

A Republican-led House investigative committee this week unanimously recommended impeaching Paxton on 20 articles, including bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust. The committee said it began investigating Paxton in March, after he requested $3.3 million in taxpayer funds to end a lawsuit by former staffers who accused him of retaliation.

The memo released by Phelan, and written by the House committee that investigated Paxton, noted that “we cannot over-emphasize the fact that, but for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment by the House.”

Paxton has dismissed the House investigation as a political attack by Phelan, accused him of presiding over the chamber drunk last week and called for Phelan’s resignation this week. Phelan’s office dismissed the accusations as Paxton attempting to “save face.”

“It’s is a sad day for Texas as we witness the corrupt political establishment unite in this illegitimate attempt to overthrow the will of the people and disenfranchise the voters of our state,” Paxton said in a statement late Thursday.

He condemned the House committee’s findings as “hearsay and gossip, parroting long-disproven claims” and insisted that Republicans pushing them were taking the side of Democrats over their own. “The RINOs in the Texas Legislature are now on the same side as Joe Biden,” he said.

The committee, which included three Republicans and two Democrats, exercised a power which has been rarely used in Texas. Only two officials in Texas’s nearly 200-year history have been impeached: The governor in 1917 and a district judge in 1975, said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Houston’s Rice University.

If Paxton is impeached by the House, he would be suspended from office immediately, with his fate determined in a trial in the state Senate. Gov. Greg Abbott, a fellow Republican who has worked closely with Paxton, could appoint a temporary replacement. By law, Abbott does not have the power to pardon Paxton if he’s impeached. Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

The messy public battle to impeach Paxton has revealed a schism in the state’s normally disciplined GOP, which has full control of the levers of power in the state.

Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi called the impeachment effort a “sham” and castigated Phelan for attacking Paxton after his recent reelection and “trying to overturn the election results.”

“The impeachment proceedings against the Attorney General are but the latest front in the Texas House’s war against Republicans to stop the conservative direction of our state,” Rinaldi said in a Friday statement, accusing Phelan of “empowering Democrats, allowing them to hold leadership positions and control the agenda.”

Underscoring Paxton’s role as a national bulwark against the Biden administration and for former president Trump, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted in defense of Paxton on Friday.

“What the RINOs in the Texas State House are trying to do to America First patriot Ken Paxton is a disgrace,” he tweeted. “MAGA stands with @KenPaxtonTX against this RINO/Dem led witch hunt!!!” he wrote.

Former Trump White House aide Stephen Miller retweeted Rinaldi’s statement on Friday.

“We must all stand with @KenPaxtonTX— no AG has battled harder against Biden’s lawless assault on our constitution,” he wrote. On Thursday, he tweeted that Paxton was a “warrior for America” and urged followers to “stand with Ken.”

The 149-member House includes 64 Democrats and 85 Republicans. It was unclear whether Phelan can muster the necessary support from about a dozen fellow Republicans to reach the majority needed for impeachment. Paxton served in the House for five terms before becoming a state senator.

Two members of the House’s ultraconservative Freedom Caucus on Thursday questioned Phelan about whether they would receive more evidence about the articles of impeachment filed against Paxton and get to question witnesses.

Phelan said they won’t be able to question witnesses, and “will have access to the evidence presented to the committee.” He declined to say when he would allow a vote and referred further questions to Rep. Andrew Murr (R) who chaired the investigative committee. Murr did not return calls Friday, and Phelan’s office declined to comment.

“Phelan has enough supporters that combined with the Democrats, they have at least the minimum number to pass articles of impeachment,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party. “The Senate’s a different story. We’re not really sure what’s going to happen there. Lt. Gov. [Dan] Patrick is a big ally of Mr. Paxton.”

Final removal would require a two-thirds vote by the Texas Senate, which includes 19 Republicans and dozen Democrats. Paxton’s wife, Angela, is a Republican senator entitled to vote. If the Senate votes to impeach, Paxton would be permanently removed from office.

According to Texas law, Patrick would preside over the Senate trial but not vote. The Senate would schedule the trial, possibly pausing or reconvening after the legislative session ends Monday. During the trial, the Senate can request documents, witnesses and testimony, meet privately for deliberations and exercise “any other powers necessary,” according to state law.

Patrick did not respond to requests for comment or speak publicly in support of Paxton this week.

“I can’t say a word about it,” Patrick said of Paxton’s potential impeachment during an interview with a Dallas television station late Thursday, noting he wouldn’t be voting and that, “The members will do their duty.”

Since the prospect of Paxton’s impeachment emerged Wednesday, none of Texas’ other top Republicans have spoken out in support of him.

“No Republican wants to be out on an island supporting impeachment,” Jones said. “But if the wave goes the other way, no one wants to be supporting someone who doesn’t have the confidence of other Republicans.”

Paxton has been a powerful player in the party’s conservative wing, a staunch Trump ally selected to help lead Trump’s state campaign for 2024. Paxton and his wife appeared at the pro-Trump rally in Washington on Jan. 6 that preceded the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He led a failed attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, joining other GOP attorneys general in a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Biden’s swing state victories.

Paxton was simultaneously under FBI investigation over accusations that he used his office to help a donor. He was separately indicted on federal securities fraud charges in 2015, but has yet to stand trial. The scandals and criminal investigations increasingly made him “an embarrassment” to Abbott, Jones said. But voters have continued to support him at the ballot box and in polls: Jones said a poll of Republican voters earlier this month found 68 percent have a favorable view of Paxton.

The Texas constitution does not specify what constitutes impeachable offenses, but it mentions impeachment in connection with criminal offenses. By law, a Texas official can’t be removed from office for an act committed before their election to office, a provision Paxton and his defenders have seized upon, since he was just reelected last year, well after accusations were made against him.

The articles of impeachment issued by the investigative committee stem largely from Paxton’s relationship years ago with one of his wealthy donors. They deal heavily with Paxton’s alleged efforts over the years to protect the donor from an FBI investigation and his attempts to thwart whistleblower complaints brought by his own staff.

“This isn’t a partisan issue. This level of public corruption should be opposed by everyone,” said Democrat Rep. Gene Wu.

Wu said he planned to vote for impeachment, and expected both fellow Democrats and a significant number of Republicans would, too — more than a majority of the House, he said. Wu said the governor and lieutenant governor’s silence “should raise red flags” that Paxton’s support had waned.

He said Paxton’s impeachment was “long overdue.”

“This is a matter of public trust. This is a matter of protecting our own democracy,” Wu said. “ … There are some things we need to do for the integrity of the state, the integrity of the Republic. I am confident there are enough people here who are going to do the right thing.”