Why Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment fight isn’t finished yet
Breaking Legal News - POSTED: 2023/05/28 07:52
Breaking Legal News - POSTED: 2023/05/28 07:52
The Texas Legislature already made one historic move with its impeachment of Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Another one is coming.
The GOP-led House of Representatives on Saturday approved 20 articles of impeachment on sweeping allegations of wrongdoing that have trailed the state’s top lawyer for years, including abuse of office and bribery. The vote immediately suspended Paxton from office.
But the intraparty brawl in the nation’s largest conservative state, one that even drew political punches Saturday from former President Donald Trump, is far from over. The Republican-controlled Senate will hold a trial of Paxton next, and he and his allies hope conservatives there will save him.
One member of that chamber is his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, and she could cast a vote on her husband’s political future, which is now in jeopardy in part because of bribery allegations linked to his extra-marital affair.
Impeachment in Texas is similar to the process on the federal level: After the House action, the Senate holds its trial. It is yet to be scheduled.
The House needed just a simple majority of its 149 members to impeach Paxton, and the final 121-23 vote was a landslide. But the threshold for conviction in the Senate trial is higher, requiring a two-thirds majority of its 31 members.
If that happens, Paxton would be permanently barred from holding office in Texas. Anything less means Paxton is acquitted and can resume his third term as attorney general.
Paxton bitterly criticized the chamber’s investigation as “corrupt,” secret and conducted so quickly that he and his lawyers were not allowed to mount a defense. He also called Republican House Speaker Dade a “liberal.”
The Senate is led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Like Paxton, he is a Republican who has closely allied himself with Trump, and he has driven Texas’ right-wing political and policy push for the last decade. Patrick has yet to comment on the impeachment or the House’s allegations.
The Senate will set its own trial rules, including whether to take witness testimony and what reports and documents to consider. It could also consider whether to excuse Angela Paxton from voting due to conflict of interest.