Texas lawmakers recommend impeaching AG
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton teetered on the brink of impeachment Thursday after years of scandal, criminal charges and corruption accusations that the state’s Republican majority had largely met with silence until now.
In an unanimous decision, a Republican-led House investigative committee that spent months quietly looking into Paxton recommended impeaching the state’s top lawyer. The House could vote on the recommendation as soon as Friday. If it impeaches Paxton, he would be forced to leave office immediately.
The move sets set up what could be a remarkably sudden downfall for one of the GOP’S most prominent legal combatants, who in 2020 asked the U. S. Supreme Court to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory. Only two officials in Texas’ nearly 200-year history have been impeached.
Paxton has been under FBI investigation for years over accusations that he used his office to help a donor and was separately indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, but has yet to stand trial.
Since the House committee investigation came to light this week, Paxton has suggested that it is a politically motivated attack by a “liberal” Republican House speaker, Dade Phelan, whom he also accused of being drunk on the job. Phelan’s office has brushed off Paxton’s accusation as an attempt by Paxton to “save face.”
One of Paxton’s criminal defense attorneys, Philip Hilder, said Thursday that Paxton’s alleged wrongdoing should be left to the courts.
“These matters are appropriate for resolution in a judicial system, not in a political system,” Hilder told The Associated Press.
Impeachment requires a two-thirds vote of the state’s 150-member House chamber, where Republicans hold a commanding 85- 64 majority. It’s unclear how many backers Paxton may have in the House. Since the prospect of impeachment suddenly emerged Wednesday, none of Texas other top Republicans have voiced support for Paxton.
When a vote will come also is unclear. Rep. Andrew Murr, the Republican chair of the investigative committee, said he did not have a timeline and Phelan’s office declined to comment.