Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is bracing for what he believes to be a second wave of impeachment attempts against him, according to a recent statement. Despite lacking clear evidence for his claim, Paxton asserted yesterday that the House ethics committee aims to oust him from office, as reported by the Texas Tribune. "Their bitter obsession with taking me down knows no bounds, and they will stop at nothing to remove me from office," Paxton said, without offering further details to back his allegation.
Heading into potential turmoil, the House General Investigating Committee, which last year recommended Paxton's impeachment on charges of corruption, is convening once again. The previous proceedings led to an indictment brought against Paxton by the House on 20 articles, including bribery and abuse of office, though he was acquitted of 16 by the Senate, with the rest being dismissed. Slated for expulsion after a separate investigation by the committee for sexual misconduct, Rep. Bryan Slaton found his political career unanimously ended by his peers. Details regarding the upcoming meetings remain under wraps, in accordance with committee practices, and repeated attempts to extract comments from committee Chair Rep. Andrew Murr or House Speaker Dade Phelan’s spokesperson have been met with silence.
In a Texas landscape rife with political strife, the matter throws an already tumultuous House into a deeper vortex of uncertainty. With Representative Paxton believing that the timing of this renewed scrutiny is an act of revenge by what he terms “lame-duck Republicans” who face political exit wounds, partly credited to his influence. According to Paxton, as obtained by the Texas Tribune, these officials are lashing out after losing their primaries, and a handful, like Murr, chose not to run for re-election.
The specter of impeachment looms over Paxton not just at the state level but also in the federal domain. Unsettling new developments have surfaced as part of an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department into Paxton's conduct. This inquiry was spurred by accusations from several of Paxton's top aides, who brought their concerns forward to the FBI in September 2020. Justice Department prosecutors are now digging into the very fabric of Paxton's tenure, with subpoenaed testimony from two employees of the attorney general's office before a federal grand jury earlier this month adding to the gravity of the situation. The investigation encompasses a gamut of allegations including obstruction of justice, bribery, and honest services wire fraud—all of which share hallmarks with the prior impeachment articles, as reported by the Texas Tribune.
In the churn of this political melee, two Republican members, state Reps. Tom Oliverson and Shelby Slawson, have thrown their hats into the ring to challenge incumbent Speaker Phelan. Both have vocalized their criticisms of the rushed impeachment proceedings against Paxton, which according to them, resulted in negative political repercussions during the primaries. Meanwhile, Paxton has continued to outright deny any wrongdoing associated with the various allegations he faces.
