Thursday, March 28, 2024

GOP Panel Recommends Impeaching Texas AG Ken Paxton

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One of the most powerful Republicans in the state of has been recommended for .

By his fellow Republicans.

A GOP-led committee in the Texas House of Representatives investigating Attorney General announced Thursday evening that his alleged abuses of power rose to a possible criminal level and warranted impeachment.

As The New York Times reports:

The recommendation thrust the State Capitol and its Republican leadership into uncharted political territory in the waning days of the legislative session, setting the stage for the House to hold a vote on impeachment, its first in decades and one of the few ever conducted in the state's history.

If he is impeached, Mr. Paxton, who has been under a separate criminal indictment since 2015, would be required to step down from his post temporarily while facing trial in the State .

“There's really no precedent — we've really only had two impeachments under the constitution of 1876,” said Mark P. Jones, a professor of political science at Rice University. They include the governor in 1917, who resigned the day before the Senate convicted him, and a district judge who was convicted and removed in the 1970s.

Before the vote, the committee met in an executive session, outside public view.

Paxton has been reelected twice, first by a relatively narrow 3.56% margin of victory in 2018 and by 9.7% in 2022.

Thursday's vote came after hours of testimony by a team of former prosecutors tasked with investigating how Paxton allegedly abused his office to help enrich a wealthy real estate developer, hire a woman he was having an affair with and retaliate against whistleblowers.

In February, Paxton agreed to a $3.3 million settlement with four former aides who had accused him of corruption and retaliation.

Paxton has increasingly spoken out against the investigation in a budding war of words and accusations.

This is a story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

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Patrick Houck
Patrick Houck
Patrick Houck is an avid political enthusiast based out of the Washington, D.C. metro area. His expertise is in campaigns and the use of targeted messaging to persuade voters. When not combing through the latest news, you can find him enjoying the company of family and friends or pursuing his love of photography.

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