Texas attorney general Paxton could lose his job in impeachment trial
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[September 05, 2023]
By Brad Brooks
(Reuters) - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state's top
law-enforcement official, could lose his job in an impeachment trial on
corruption charges led by his fellow Republicans that begins on Tuesday.
Paxton has been suspended from his position since the Republican-led
Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach him on 20 corruption
charges in May, including aiding a donor and persecuting whistleblowers.
Now his fate rests with the state Senate, also controlled by
Republicans, which will vote on whether to remove him.
Paxton, who is under investigation by the FBI, has denied any wrongdoing
and says the impeachment drive is a political witch hunt.
The trial, which is likely to last several weeks, could expose a split
among the state's Republicans that echoes the national party's divisions
over former U.S. President Donald Trump, who leads polling for his
party's 2024 presidential nomination despite four criminal prosecutions.
Paxton, 60, has been elected three times despite legal woes that stretch
back to 2015.
As attorney general, he has backed powerful oil and gas interests and
pursued restrictions on abortion and transgender rights. He has led
Republican state opposition to Democratic President Barack Obama's
policies and filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Trump's 2020 election
defeat.
Paxton's impeachment was triggered by his request that House lawmakers
approve a $3.3 million settlement he reached with four former staff
members who accused him of abuse of office and were subsequently fired.
Lawmakers did not respond to the request.
The Texas House voted 121-23 to impeach him on 20 articles that accuse
him of improperly aiding a wealthy political donor, conducting a sham
investigation against the whistleblowers in his office, and covering up
wrongdoing in a separate federal securities fraud case, among other
offenses.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks
ahead of a rally held by former U.S. President Donald Trump, in
Robstown, Texas, U.S., October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File
photo
Paxton's trial in the 31-member Senate is expected to last for
several weeks. All 12 Democrats are expected to vote against him,
meaning nine Republicans would need to oppose him to reach the
two-thirds majority necessary to permanently remove him from office.
Former Republican Texas Governor and two-time presidential candidate
Rick Perry wrote in the Wall Street Journal last month that senators
have a duty to set aside politics and look hard at all the evidence.
Jonathan Stickland, who heads a political action committee that is
backed by three billionaire oil tycoons, has said he will work to
ensure Republicans who oppose Paxton face a well-funded primary
opponent in their next election.
Bob Stein, a political scientist at Rice University, says that
pressure could help Paxton win acquittal.
"If senators want to hold onto their seats, let alone do something
in the future like run for Congress, they have to watch carefully
what they do because of these political donors backing Paxton,"
Stein said.
But Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist
University, pointed to the lopsided House vote as a sign that Paxton
might not hold on to his job.
"There is great security in crowds. The crowd of Republicans that
voted to impeach him in the House and those that will likely vote
against him in the Senate are going to be harder to punish," Jillson
said.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado; Editing by Donna
Bryson and Andy Sullivan)
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