Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, was temporarily removed from office on Saturday by House lawmakers – including many from his own party – who voted to impeach him over a series of bribery allegations and corruption, including that he gave special treatment to a campaign donor who helped him remodel his home.
The 121-23 impeachment vote included a majority of House Republicans, showing bipartisan support for removing the attorney general from office. And it came despite the objection of former President Donald Trump and a host of other prominent conservatives who argued that lawmakers were reversing the will of voters who reelected Paxton to a third term by a wide margin. margin in November.
Paxton, who has denied wrongdoing and called the proceedings illegal, will at some point face a trial in the state Senate, home to several of his allies and his wife, Senator Angela Paxton.
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Here are the conclusions of the impeachment proceedings.
More than half of Republicans voted for impeachment, revealing rifts.
After hours of sometimes heated debate, a substantial majority of Republicans in the House ultimately decided to impeach Paxton, despite his strong appeal to Republican primary voters in Texas.
The lawsuit exposed, in stark terms, the divisions that have divided Republicans in recent years and that were likely to define the conflict within the party for some time to come: on the one hand, those who saw Paxton as the victim of an unfair trial that would help Democrats and others who felt a sense of duty and integrity compelled them to act against corruption, even to the detriment of a party leader.
The lines were drawn in real time, between Republicans presenting the arguments for impeachment and other Republicans challenging them.
Representative John Smithee, a Republican, said he did not have enough evidence before him to support the effort and unsuccessfully urged other lawmakers not to vote for impeachment. “Today it could be General Paxton, and tomorrow it could be you,” Smithee said.
Another Republican opponent was more blunt about the policy at issue. “That’s wrong. You know that. Your constituents know that,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt said. “Don’t give the Democrats another victory handed to them on a silver platter.”
Representative Andrew Murr, who led the committee to investigate Paxton and introduced the impeachment resolution, concluded the debate by saying that “integrity and honesty” were important traits; he urged his colleagues to respect them and vote for impeachment.
“The evidence presented to you is compelling and is more than sufficient to warrant a trial,” he said.
The attorney general remains suspended while the case goes to trial in the Senate.
Paxton’s case will then be transferred to the State Senate, where he will be tried. Among the senators who will serve as jurors, there is one who knows him well: Angela Paxton, his wife, who is a Republican.
Meanwhile, Ken Paxton will be temporarily suspended from his duties. Gov. Greg Abbott can appoint someone to act as acting attorney general, but he doesn’t have to. If he fails to do so, these tasks would be taken over by the next most senior official.
Assuming Angela Paxton does not recuse herself and all 12 Democratic senators vote to permanently impeach Ken Paxton, nine of the body’s 19 Republicans would also have to vote for impeachment to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority.
If the Senate votes to acquit Paxton, he would immediately resume the role of attorney general.
It is not known when the trial will take place, but it is almost certain that it will not take place before the end of the legislative session on Monday. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who will preside over the trial and set the rules, may call a special session to hold it. His office did not say if and when he planned to do so.
Several lawmakers stood out in their roles on Saturday.
In the four hours that lawmakers have debated whether to impeach Paxton, several key players have emerged who could play lasting roles during the impeachment case.
— Representative Andrew Murrthe Republican who headed the committee that investigated Paxton, introduced the impeachment resolution and answered most questions from Paxton supporters, many of whom directly criticized the committee’s work.
Murr, with his distinctive curly mustache, parried many attacks on the process as he backtracked on the seriousness of the charges against Paxton. “We will not tolerate corruption, bribery, abuse of power, retaliation and any related charges brought before you,” he said in his closing speech. “I am convinced that you cannot condone, let alone defend, these gravest and most serious official wrongs.”
— Representative John Smithee, another Republican, took on the role of arguing against impeachment, focusing less on the charges and more on how he viewed the process as unfair. He said there was not enough evidence presented and lawmakers had not had enough time to consider such a consequential decision.
“It’s what I call the policy of hanging them now and trying them later,” he said of the proceedings.
— Rep. Ann Johnson, a Democrat and former prosecutor, walked into Paxton from the ground on Saturday, saying he broke laws that could result in jail time. She also described what she said were senior members of Paxton staff whose integrity compelled them to speak out about her behavior. She said an employee observed Paxton requesting expensive renovations to his home which would be paid for by his friend and donor.
The employee, deeply disturbed by a situation he considered inappropriate, quit his job, Johnson said. When he continued to be paid by Paxton, she said, the man returned the money to Paxton’s campaign. “That’s the kind of integrity,” she said, that investigators found in the people who spoke, many of whom were Republicans.
— House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican in his second session as House leader, handled the proceedings and remained generally silent, apart from the decorum urged at the start. But because he was seen as having allowed the proceedings to take place, Phelan faced withering and sustained attacks from national Republican figures, especially those allied with Trump. After the impeachment vote, Trump personally vilified Phelan. “Where is our country going?” Trump asked on his social media network, Truth Social.
Corruption, an affair and abuse of public trust are among the lawmakers’ allegations.
The investigative committee spent the first few minutes of Saturday’s floor session presenting the 20 articles of impeachment that were ultimately approved by a majority of lawmakers.
Among the allegations, Paxton gave special treatment and abused his office to help Nate Paul, a friend and campaign donor in Austin, Texas, on several occasions. Lawmakers also said Paul helped renovate Paxton’s home and employed a woman Paxton had an affair with, actions that amounted to bribes in the eyes of Paxton’s critics.
The articles of impeachment also include allegations that Paxton ordered his employees to violate the state’s open records law, fired employees who reported his misconduct, made false statements to a board of state, failed to accurately disclose his finances and blocked a separate criminal prosecution that charged him. securities fraud.
Calling the vote “deeply unfair,” Paxton said he still expects a fair trial in the Senate.
Paxton spoke after the proceedings, calling the House action an “ugly spectacle” which he called “illegal, unethical and deeply unfair”.
In a statement, Paxton said lawmakers refused to hear his evidence and he accused Phelan of being motivated by a desire for political retaliation. He also accused Phelan and other Republicans who voted for impeachment of being aligned with a slew of liberal organizations and politicians, including President Joe Biden and “woke companies.”
But Paxton said he looked forward to his trial in the state Senate, where he said he was “fully confident that the process will be fair and just.”
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