Texas AG faces impeachment as State House prepares to vote following Republican backlash.

Texas AG Ken Paxton Faces Impeachment Vote

The Texas state House is set to vote on Saturday on whether to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton. If successful, Paxton would be immediately removed from his post.

According to the Associated Press, 20 articles of impeachment have been filed against Paxton. The allegations against the Republican include attempting to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits, issuing legal opinions to benefit a real estate developer, and obstructing whistleblowers in his office. Paxton also faces bribery charges, alleging that he had a deal with the developer to provide legal assistance in exchange for hiring a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an affair and paying for work done at Paxton’s home.

Paxton has denied any wrongdoing and claims that lawmakers have no right to impeach him. He believes that his re-election was the root of the uprising against him, saying his opponents “became very disturbed when I won and they concocted this plan – I think months and months ago, maybe right after my reelection – thinking that the voters just were not smart enough to figure this out. They’re going to fix it.”

NEW: Impeachment of Texas AG Ken Paxton will begin tomorrow at 1pm, per memo to all members.

“We cannot over-emphasize the fact that, but for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement…Paxton would not be facing impeachment.”https://t.co/kh01DVMZti #txlege

— Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) May 26, 2023

However, a memo from the House General Investigating Committee says that action is needed because of Paxton’s “long-standing pattern of abuse of office and public trust.” The memo noted that the catalyst for the probe that led to the vote was Paxton himself, when he asked the House to approve a $3.3 million settlement with whistleblowers.

“But for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment,” the investigative committee wrote in the memo.

“To be negligent is just one thing,” Donna Cameron, who was hired to investigate Paxton, said, according to KUT-FM. “But malfeasance is when you are actively and intentionally doing things to the detriment of the office and to your oath and to the responsibility that you have to the state of Texas and the public.”

Despite Paxton’s claims that the process of impeachment has been flawed, the state’s rules for impeachment require immediate removal from office if the articles of impeachment are approved by the House, even before the trial that would follow in the Senate.

Is the Impeachment a Piece of Political Theater?

Some claim that the impeachment is a piece of political theater. Matt Rinaldi, who chairs the Republican Party of Texas, said in a statement, according to the Texas Tribune, “The impeachment proceedings against the Attorney General are but the latest front in the Texas House’s war against Republicans to stop the conservative direction of our state.”

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.