Texas AG accuses House Speaker of drunkenness, demands resignation.

Texas Attorney General Calls for House Speaker’s Resignation

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called on House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign, accusing the lawmaker of being drunk while overseeing proceedings on the House floor.

“After much consideration, it is with profound disappointment that I call on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign at the end of the legislative session,” Paxton said in a statement posted on Twitter on May 23. “Texans were dismayed to witness his performance presiding over the Texas House in an apparent debilitating intoxication. His conduct has negatively impacted the legislative process and constitutes a failure to live up to his duty to the public.”

Phelan, a Republican lawmaker from Beaumont, Texas, appeared to slur his words while speaking on the House floor on May 19 in videos that are circulating online. Videos of the May 19 sessions can also be viewed on the Texas House of Representatives website.

Phelan’s behavior appeared normal during most of the two-part session that lasted approximately 14 hours. None of the other lawmakers appeared to question his conduct in the second video. The lawmaker is the 76th Speaker of the Texas House and is serving his fourth term as a state representative.

House Ethics Committee Investigation

The speaker’s office said Paxton’s call for Phelan’s resignation was motivated by the House Ethics Committee’s investigation of a $3.3 million whistleblower settlement the attorney general reached with four former employees who accused him of corruption.

“The House has been conducting an investigation related to your request for $3.3 million dollars of public money to pay a settlement resolving litigation between your agency and terminated whistleblowers,” reads the letter from the Committee to Paxton.

The letter is dated May 23.

“The committee’s inquiry has reached the stage where they have directed the issuance of a preservation letter to you and your agency,” the letter said.

Paxton Investigation

Revelation of the committee’s letter came hours after Paxton’s call for Phelan’s resignation.

“This afternoon, the Texas House General Investigating Committee directed the issuance of a preservation letter to the Office of the Attorney General, the state agency that is the subject of ‘Matter A,’ to ensure that all evidence relevant to the committee’s inquiry is not destroyed or concealed,” Cait Wittman, spokesperson for Phelan, told The Epoch Times in a statement.

The letter orders the attorney general to preserve and retain all documents, electronic or magnetic data, and any other items related to the case.

“The failure to preserve and retain this information may constitute spoilation of evidence and subject you to legal claims for damages or monetary sanctions,” the letter continued.

Wittman said Paxton’s statement about Phelan “amounts to little more than a last-ditch effort to save face.”

Wittman’s statement did not confirm nor deny Paxton’s accusations regarding Phelan’s behavior on the House floor on May 19.

• Texans are calling for House Speaker Dade Phelan’s resignation after he appeared to be drunk while overseeing proceedings on the House floor.
• The call for resignation comes amid an investigation into a $3.3 million whistleblower settlement reached by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
• The House Ethics Committee has directed the issuance of a preservation letter to the Office of the Attorney General to ensure all evidence relevant to the inquiry is retained.

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.