Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lambasted the state House lawmakers who voted to impeach him on Saturday, calling the entire process “illegal, unfounded, and unethical.”
The Texas state House voted to impeach the GOP state attorney general by a vote of 121-23 on Saturday, which sets up the possibility that he could be permanently removed from office if the state Senate votes the same way. He’ll be temporarily removed from his post until the Senate trial concludes. Paxton responded to the news of the House vote with a lengthy statement condemning the effort to remove him as unlawful and politically motivated.
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“The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just. It was a politically motivated sham from the beginning,” Paxton said. “My office made every effort to present evidence, testimony, and irrefutable facts that would have disproven the countless false statements and outright lies advanced by Speaker Dade Phelan and the Murr-Johnson panel he appointed.”
“Unfortunately, they refused to consider anything that would interfere with their desired result,” he continued. “They disregarded the law, ignored the facts, and demonstrated contempt for Texas voters.”
The Texas AG has faced years of corruption accusations — including being indicted in 2015 on felony security fraud charges that he still has yet to beat. He’s largely survived those scandals up to now, during which time he’s established himself as a prominent conservative legal warrior and a known foe of the Biden administration.
He said in his statement that while he was displeased with the state House’s handling of his impeachment proceedings, he had “full confidence” that the “process will be fair and just” in the Senate. It is not yet clear if the state Senate will even hold a trial, as there is nowhere near the necessary two-thirds support to convict him in that chamber.
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“I am beyond grateful to have the support of millions of Texans who recognize that what we just witnessed is illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust,” Paxton’s statement read. “I look forward to a quick resolution in the Texas Senate.”
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) will now have the opportunity to appoint an interim state AG, though it is not yet known if he plans to do so.
