Texas AG Seeks Dismissal Of 19 Impeachment Charges

Attorneys representing Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have filed a motion seeking to dismiss 19 out of 20 impeachment charges against him. The charges, brought forward by the Texas House of Representatives, span from alleged abuse of power to bribery involving a real estate developer, Nathan Paul. 

Lawyers for suspended AG Ken Paxton seek to dismiss 19 of 20 articles of impeachment, arguing that he cannot be removed from office for any alleged actions prior to January 2023, when he began his latest term in office. https://t.co/Q5P55cFaRX

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) July 31, 2023

Paxton’s legal team argues that voters were well aware of these allegations when they reelected him, making them unsubstantiated and politically motivated. According to them, the majority of the charges are based on old information that has been repeatedly aired by Paxton’s political opponents over the years.

“Texas voters rendered their judgment by re-electing Attorney General Paxton to serve a third consecutive term. As a matter of both common sense and Texas law, that should be the end of the matter,” the team wrote in the motion filed with the Senate.

Paxton, who has been serving as Texas’s attorney general since 2015, has earned voter support in three elections, in which he defeated high-profile rivals like George P. Bush, the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush.

Paxton’s lawyers criticized the impeachment managers in the state House, accusing them of being aggressive, reckless, and presenting little to no credible evidence to support their allegations.

The only charge not challenged in the motion relates to a $3.3 million settlement Paxton reached with former employees who accused him of wrongful termination. The state Legislature refused to allocate public funds for this settlement, leading to the investigation that triggered the impeachment proceedings.

Amid the legal challenges, Paxton’s spokesperson stated that the impeachment attempt is a result of political opposition, attempting to bypass the democratic process. “Unable to defeat the Attorney General at the polls, the architects of the present impeachment caused the House to quickly file and pass twenty Articles of Impeachment—in a mere three days,” a spokesperson said to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“The allegations making up the Articles contain unsupported, vague, and irrelevant assertions of non-impeachable conduct,” the spokesperson added.

As the trial progresses, all concerned eyes are on the Texas Senate to see how they handle the charges against the embattled Attorney General.