Within 48 hours of announcing the findings of a House General Investigating Committee investigation that had gone on for several months in secret, members of the Texas House were asked to vote to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
On Saturday - after roughly four hours of discussion - 121 members, including 61 Democrats and 60 Republicans, voted to impeach the attorney general of Texas for the first time in state history.
Two members, one Democrat and one Republican, voted present.
Rep. Matt Schaeffer, R-Tyler, expressed "Grave concerns with the process," noting that no member was given the opportunity to direct questions to a single witness - including members of the GIC. "To be clear, the full Texas House has not heard any testimony from witnesses, nor have we been provided transcripts of such testimony," he said in a statement.
Schaeffer, who publicly opposed Paxton's re-election in the Republican primary, said he voted no because "The simple truth is that the evidentiary basis to impeach Attorney General Paxton has not been properly established." Those expressing opposition also echoed the same concerns: no due process, no documentation, no witness testimony, only hearsay of paid Democratic investigators.
Over the course of four hours of discussion, many of the members weren't present.
"But the people of Texas know that I have always had their back, and in return, they have always had mine. What we witnessed today is not just about me. It is about the corrupt establishment's eagerness to overpower the millions of Texas voters who already made their voices heard when they overwhelmingly re-elected me." He also said he was "Beyond grateful to have the support of millions of Texans who recognize that what we just witnessed is illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust." He also reiterated his belief that the process would be fair and just in the Texas Senate.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/texas/article_0e972f8c-fd11-11ed-a4cb-9333bd7d01e2.html
Outside law firm finds Paxton didn't break laws or violate office procedure
A 174-page report released by the Office of the Attorney General in August 2021, made public before voters reelected Attorney General Ken Paxton to a third term in November 2022, disproved claims presented by Democratically-aligned counsel hired by the House General Investigating Committee.
Another report released Saturday by an outside law firm, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, also concluded, "Significant evidence to show the actions of the OAG toward the Complainants were based on legitimate, non-retaliatory, business grounds." The report came in the hours after the impeachment vote.
House officials involved in the impeachment process weren't immediately available to comment on the latest report Sunday.
The investigation relates to the OAG firing several former OAG political appointees.
The Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP report refutes the former employees' claims, including stating, "There is no evidence supporting the allegation that the Attorney General's hiring of First Assistant Webster was part of a conspiracy to retaliate against the Complainants;" "Sergeant Gonzales did not attend meetings to intimidate witnesses;" "The press releases the OAG issued after the Complainants alleged wrongdoing are not acts of retaliation," among others.
No documentary evidence was provided to the GIC or full House.
The OAG's office said the GIC was "Not interested in the truth. They were interested only in crafting a highly curated, one-sided case to overthrow the will of the voters." Paxton and others argue the impeachment process was illegal because it violated state law.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/texas/article_46e8c844-fd77-11ed-9f9d-3f75ee5c073e.html
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