Texas House votes to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton
In landmark proceedings, the Texas House votes to impeach the attorney general over allegations of abuse of office.
The Texas House has voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, a conservative stake and ally of former President Donald Trump who has been accused of abuse of office by his fellow Republicans.
In landmark proceedings, the 149-member House voted 121 to 23 on Saturday to impeach Paxton after hours of debate in which the chamber heard speeches from impeachment supporters and opponents.
Two members were present but did not vote, while three were absent.
Paxton will now be temporarily removed from office pending a trial in the Senate, where his wife, Angela Paxton, is a senator. The Texan Senate is in recess until 1 p.m. (6 p.m. GMT) on Sunday, according to its website.
Paxton has denied the allegations and denounced the procedure as “illegal, unethical and deeply unjust” in a statement posted on Twitter following Saturday’s vote.
“I look forward to a speedy resolution in the Texas Senate, where I have every confidence that the process will be fair and just,” he said.
In a post on his social media channel Truth Social ahead of the vote, Trump, who is seeking re-election in 2024, vowed to “fight” Texas House Republicans if Paxton was impeached.
The 20 articles of impeachment filed by a Republican-led House committee accuse Paxton of improperly aiding a wealthy political donor, conducting a sham investigation of whistleblowers in his office he fired, and covering up his wrongdoings in a separate federal securities fraud case against him. , among other violations.
Paxton’s impeachment procedure exposed the rift between Texas Republicans.
Some spoke passionately for impeaching the state’s top law enforcement officer.
“Attorney General Paxton consistently and blatantly violated laws, rules, policies and procedures,” Rep. David Spiller said ahead of the vote.
Others strongly opposed it. John Smithee, a long-serving Conservative member of the chamber, said he was not speaking in Paxton’s defense, but criticized the trial, saying there was insufficient evidence.
“There is not a word, not a single sentence in the testimony before you that would be admissible in a Texas court,” Smithee said. “It’s hearsay within hearsay.”
Paxton has taken a far right stance on divisive cultural issues. He has sued the Biden administration nearly 50 times in an attempt to end what he has labeled “unlawful tyrannical policies” on issues such as immigration, gun rights and business regulation.
The five-member Texas House General Investigating Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to recommend that Paxton be impeached and removed from office.
Paxton easily won re-election last year after fending off a Republican primary challenge from George P. Bush, a scion of two former presidents.
The committee has heard testimony from its investigators about several years of alleged abuse of office by Paxton, including his providing friend and donor Nate Paul, a Texas real estate developer, with FBI files related to the agency’s investigation of Paul.
The impeachment articles also allege that Paxton engaged in bribery when Paul hired a woman with whom Paxton had an extramarital affair.