Austin, TX, 51 mins ago The Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton by a vote of 121 to 23 on 20 charges of disregard of official duty, misapplication of public resources, constitutional bribery, obstruction of justice, false statements in official records, conspiracy and attempted conspiracy, misappropriation of public resources, dereliction of duty, unfitness for office, and abuse of public trust.
On Thursday, the House General Investigating Committee unanimously adopted House Resolution (HR) 2377, which contains the articles of impeachment. The committee members are Chairman Andrew Murr (R-Junction) as well as Reps. Ann Johnson (D-Houston), Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth), Oscar Longoria (D-Mission), and David Spiller (R-Jacksboro).
After he was impeached, Paxton released a statement on social media decrying the outcome of the vote, saying, I am beyond grateful to have the support of millions of Texans who recognize that what we just witnessed is illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust. I look forward to a quick resolution in the Texas Senate, where I have full confidence the process will be fair and just.
Phelans coalition of Democrats and liberal Republicans is now in lockstep with the Biden Administration, the abortion industry, anti-gun zealots, and woke corporations to sabotage my work as Attorney General, including our ongoing litigation to stop illegal immigration, uphold the rule of law, and protect the constitutional rights of every Texan.
The following members voted against impeachment:
Two members voted present, not voting, Reps. Harold Dutton Jr. (D-Houston) and Richard Hayes (R-Denton). Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress) had an excused absence.
The Collin County GOP legislative delegation which consists of Reps. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), Matt Shaheen (R-Plano), Justin Holland (R-Rockwall), Candy Noble (R-Lucas), and Frederick Frazier (R-McKinney), all of whom voted in favor of impeachment released a statement on social media after the vote: It became clear to us that sufficient evidence indeed exists to vote to commend articles of impeachment to the Texas Senate for a full-trial.
An impeachment is similar to a criminal indictment. It must be followed by a trial in the Senate, Spiller said on the Floor, advising members that they were acting as a grand jury of sorts.
Johnson provided an overview of each article of impeaching, pointing out that many of the allegations constitute felonies punishable by years of imprisonment. For instance, more than one of the disregard of official duty charges could be chargeable as a third-degree felony punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison.
The last 72 hours has shown us why Ken Paxton is so desperate to keep his case in the court of public opinion, because he has no ability to win in a court of law, Johnson said.
Responding to questions from Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), Murr agreed that witnesses were not placed under oath and were not cross-examined by members of the committee.
Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo) opposed the impeachment resolution on the grounds that he believes the process was flawed and the evidence is not enough, a theme throughout.
Im not here to defend Ken Paxton. Thats not my job, Ill leave that to someone else, Smithee said.
Smithee asserted the evidence presented to members was hearsay within hearsay within hearsay and would not be admissible in any court of law.
We do not need to be relaxing the fairness and due process concerns, Smithee said, discussing the precedent the House set with an indefensible process.
Smithee said the chamber was considering impeachment in the worst possible way.
What youre being asked to do is to impeach without evidence. It is all rumor, it is all innuendo, it is all speculation, Smithee said.
Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg) later rebutted this argument by pointing to the grand jury analogy. There are exceptions to the hearsay rule, he explained.
Hearsay is never excluded from an investigation, and thats what this is, Canales said
Canales, a defense attorney, said he has never had a client invited by prosecutors to speak to a grand jury. He contended Paxton is not entitled to speak to the investigative committee and Murrs layout should be compared to prosecutor presenting a case to the grand jury, which does not involve a rebuttal by the defense team.
Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) pointed out that all of the investigators that testified before the committee were former Harris County employees and nearly all of them vote in Democratic primaries. Murr suggested he was uninterested in the political leanings of the investigators when considering the articles of impeachment.
This body gave more time to debating tampon tax relief than weve given to impeaching the chief law enforcement officer in our state, Tinderholt said.
Tinderholt said he was sorry Republicans in the House are being used to cram through an impeachment against a popular GOP official. He said it is imprudent at best and gross abuse of power at worst.
Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Waxahachie) spoke against impeachment, saying the allegations should be left to the courts and to the voters.
The only Democrat to come to Paxtons mild defense on the floor was Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), who said he does not believe Paxtons due process rights have been respected.
I dont have enough evidence that (Paxton) did anything, Dutton said.
Dutton expressed concern that the chamber was asked to vote on the impeachment articles virtually in the dead of night.
Earlier in debate, Smithee made a similar point, saying Texans are focused on observing Memorial Day and not the Legislatures proceedings against Paxton.
Rep. Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches) said he is an absolute, staunch supporter of the Fifth Amendment and Seventh Amendment and would vote against impeachment because the record before them is predicated on hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay.
Before Saturdays vote, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz came to Paxton defense on social media, calling Paxtons impeachment a travesty.
Virtually all of the information in the articles was public BEFORE Election Day, and the voters chose to re-elect Ken Paxton by a large margin. In my view, the Texas Legislature should respect the choice of the Texas voters, Cruz said.
The senator said the swamp in Austin dislikes Paxton because he is a fierce conservative. Cruz contended the courts should settle Paxtons legal troubles.
Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the White House in 2024, called the impeachment proceeding election interference.
The RINO Speaker of the House of Texas, Dade Phelan, who is barely a Republican at all and failed the test on voter integrity, wants to impeach one of the most hard working and effective Attorney Generals in the United States, Ken Paxton, who just won re-election with a large number of American Patriots strongly voting for him, Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Trump claimed that any issue would have been fully adjudicated by the voters of Texas and that Paxtons victory was conclusive.
Unlike in federal impeachments, Paxton will be removed from office pending his trial in the Texas Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required to convict him. State law gives Gov. Greg Abbott the authority to appoint Paxtons replacement.
The House impeached him on suspicion of corrupt dealings with Nate Paul, a real estate developer who donated $25,000 to Paxtons campaign in 2018. Paxton is accused of accepting bribes from Paul and using the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to harm the Roy F. & JoAnn Cole Mitte Foundation, which had sued several companies Paul controlled.
Paul also hired a woman with whom Paxton has acknowledged having an extramarital affair, an act the House says constituted bribery.
The articles of impeachment allege that Paxton abused his office by appointing a special prosecutor to investigate a baseless complaint and issue dozens of grand jury subpoenas. It also outlines an allegation that Paxton warped the legal opinion process to prevent foreclosure on a number of Pauls properties by saying that foreclosure hearings violated the states then-in-place 10-person limit on gatherings. Paxton allegedly ordered one of his employees to alter the opinion from finding that the proceedings didnt violate the gathering limit to opining that they did.
Lawmakers say Paxton violated Texas whistleblower laws by terminating employees who reported their suspicions to federal authorities in good faith.
Four of those employees, David Maxwell, Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley, and Blake Brickman, filed a lawsuit against Paxton that has been making its way through Texas courts for years. Paxton reached a $3.3 million settlement agreement with the former employees, an amount he asked the Texas Legislature to pay.
Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) said in February he did not believe the payout was a proper use of public funds and the appropriation was explicitly excluded from the state budget.
HR 2377 says Paxton abused the judicial process to thwart justice by acting to delay his trial on securities fraud charges that prosecutors filed against him in Collin County eight years ago. Paxton deprived the electorate of its opportunity to make an informed decision during the elections, they said.
The House also accused Paxton of lying to state officials about his personal finances and other matters.
While holding office as attorney general, Warren Kenneth Paxton used, misused, or failed to use his official powers in a manner calculated to subvert the lawful operation of the government of the State of Texas an obstruct the fair and impartial administration of justice, thereby bringing the Office of the Attorney General into scandal and disrepute to the prejudice of public confidence in the government of this State, as shown by the acts described in one or more articles, the resolution reads.
Paxton said Thursday the allegations are based on hearsay and gossip and dismissed the impeachment as an effort by liberal House members to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
Chief Litigant for the OAG, Chris Hilton, cited Texas Government Code Sec. 665.081 and contended Paxton cannot be impeached on charges of misconduct committed prior to the last election.
That section of code reads, (a) An officer in this state may not be removed from office for an act the officer may have committed before the officers election to office.
(b) The prohibition against the removal from office for an act the officer commits before the officers election is covered by: (1) Section 21.002, Local Government Code, for a mayor or alderman of a general law municipality; or (2) Chapter 87, Local Government Code, for a county or precinct officer.
It does not specify whether that means the officials most recent election to office or the initial election that placed him in the office in the first place.
In November 2022, Paxton was reelected with 53 percent of the vote compared to Democratic nominee Rochelle Garzas 44 percent.
In the Republican primary, Paxton advanced to a runoff with Land Commissioner George P. Bush after defeating Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX-01) and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman.
Paxton overwhelmingly defeated Bush with 68 percent of the vote.
Update:The Texan has acquired the list of how each member voted and this article now includes statements from several state officials.
A copy of the impeachment resolution can be found below.
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Ken Paxton Impeached on 20 Charges Including Bribery ... - The Texan