Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been indicted on federal securities fraud charges since before he was elected to the AG’s office and is under investigation by the FBI, this was year impeached in a bipartisan effort by the Texas House of Representatives. Lesbian state Rep. Ann Johnson (D-Houston) served as one of the floor managers.
Lawmakers voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton on 20 articles of impeachment — including bribery, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice.
Charges were brought against the AG after he pushed to have the state pay $3.3 million to settle a lawsuit filed by whistleblowers who claim Paxton fired them in retaliation after they went to the U.S. Department of Justice in 2020 with concerns regarding Paxton’s potential abuse of public office.
Investigators told the committee, during a public hearing on May 24, that Paxton had probably violated the law and that the settlement was his attempt to avoid having to testify during a trial and turn over certain evidence. The committee then voted to recommend the House impeach the attorney general a recommendation which the House followed.
State Rep. Ann Johnson
Then the impeached Attorney General Paxton hired a new attorney, Tony Buzbee, to represent him in his trial before the Senate. Buzbee described the impeachment proceeding as “a drive-by shooting on a holiday weekend to politically assassinate” Paxton.
Under Texas law, Paxton was suspended from office through the trial. If convicted, he’d be removed from office. If acquitted, he’d return to office.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presided over the trial in the Senate, received $3 million in campaign support in June from the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, a top group campaigning against Paxton’s impeachment. Patrick is not up for re-election until 2026.
Buzbee suggested there would be a long list of witnesses and the Senate trial would be a long one. Instead, the trial lasted just two weeks in September.
A total of 21 votes was needed to remove Paxton from office. His wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, was allowed to be present through the trial, but wasn’t allowed to vote. So to remove from office, 21 of the remaining 30 senators would have to vote against him.
Four charges were dismissed. On the remaining 16 charges, vote tallies varied. The 12 Democrats in the senate voted to convict Paxton on most charges. Of the 18 voting Republicans, only two voted to convict on any of the charges.
Paxton was acquitted on all remaining charges and returned to office.
Since then, the attorney general has spent much of his time getting revenge on House and Senate Republicans who voted against him by endorsing and campaigning for opponents in the upcoming March 5 primary.
But while he escaped the threat of impeachment, Paxton still faces federal securities fraud charges, with that long-delayed trial finally set for April 15, 2024. He was first indicted in July 2015. In addition, the FBI investigation from which the whistleblowers’ lawsuit stems is ongoing.
— David Taffet
