Texas House Committee Recommends Impeachment for AG Who Sought to Overturn Election
A GOP-led Texas House committee recommended the impeachment of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday.
The recommendation came a day after investigators with the House General Investigating Committee testified Paxton “broke numerous state laws, misspent office funds, and misused his power to benefit a friend and political donor.” The committee surreptitiously authorized the investigation this spring.
Reports said the inquiry “focused first on a proposed $3.3 million agreement to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed by four high-ranking deputies who were fired after accusing Paxton of accepting bribes and other misconduct.”
According to The Texas Tribune, many of the allegations against Paxton were well-known before Wednesday, but the committee decided to hold a rare public hearing “to reveal the wide scope of the committee’s investigation into the state’s top lawyer and a member of the ruling Republican Party.”
The decision to recommend impeachment finally came down on Thursday.
“There are a lot of alleged abuses of his office,” said MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on Deadline: White House. “You know, what is it? Power corrupts — absolute power corrupts absolutely. It looks like there’s something awry with Republicans in Texas.”
“I mean, to put it mildly, it’s incredible that he’s still in office,” said former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards. “And it’s so horrifying because of course, he’s one of the biggest perpetrators of the assault on women. And so it just — it’s incredible that women in the state have to live under Ken Paxton and the folks that are in charge. I just — have to say, a little bit of joy here, but the thing that’s important to remember here, Nicolle, is women are going to still wake up tomorrow in Texas and have no rights… and so I think we can’t ignore that.”
This week, Paxton himself called for the resignation of Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) after Phelan seemed to slur his words on the House floor. Paxton came under ridicule in 2020 after filing suit to invalidate the presidential election results in George, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rejected the suit for lack of standing.
Watch the MSNBC clip above.
