The process of impeachment should be used sparingly. But always used when a politician is caught red-handed.
And now this impeachment trial has put President Biden on notice in a big way.
Texas State senators are heading back to the state’s capital city on Tuesday to start the impeachment trial against Attorney General Ken Paxton, which is anticipated to be contentious and dramatic.
The start of the trial in the Senate begins as rumors of impeachment for Joe Biden are growing louder and louder, especially in the wake of the evidence of President Biden’s potential bribery schemes turning up by U.S. House Republicans.
The three-term Republican could be permanently expelled from public service and charged with crimes if found liable for the corruption accusations, including accepting bribes and taking advantage of public trust. He was temporarily relieved of his duties as the state’s top lawyer in May.
Paxton, 60, has been serving with Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) since 2015 and has been a key player in the legal actions taken by Texas and other states against the federal government. Paxton has filed more cases than any other red-state against the Biden administration, but the all-out assault on Washington has been suspended while he works to defend his name.
In the 200-year history of the state, he is just the third politician to be impeached.
Since his indictment in 2015, Paxton has been the subject of federal accusations of fraud and securities, but nothing has been done by the government throughout that period.
The events surrounding Paxton’s connections with Austin, Texas real estate investor Nate Paul, who initially became connected with Paxton in 2018 when he donated $25,000 to his campaign, are the main subject of the impeachment.
Paul failed to make payments on company loans totaling several hundred million dollars during that same year. In 2019, the FBI searched Paul’s office, and this summer, a grand jury charged him on eight charges of deceiving financial institutions, each carrying a $180 million fine and a maximum sentence of 240 years in federal prison. Paul entered a not-guilty plea.
In 2020, Paxton’s own assistant attorneys general informed the FBI about their boss. Paxton allegedly attempted to assist Paul in thwarting the federal probe, according to the eight deputies who came forward. Paul did favors for Paxton in exchange, including hiring the woman that Paxton had been having an affair with. The position gave the foreign woman a chance to work in Austin. Additionally, the informants said that Paul provided funding for Paxton’s home improvements.
All eight deputies either quit or were fired. Since then, four deputies have filed lawsuits claiming they were wrongfully fired and are entitled to whistleblower protections under state law.
The state House of Representatives impeached Paxton in late May after the House Committee on General Investigating unanimously decided to file 20 articles of impeachment against him.
A number of charges, including bribery, securities fraud, and attempting to meddle in foreclosure litigation, have been leveled against the close friend of former President Donald Trump. The accusations have been circulating during his time in office.
Republican state representative David Spiller, one of the committee’s five members, stated that “no one person should be above the law, least of all the top law officer of the state of Texas.”
By a significant margin of 86 to 64, Republicans are in charge of the Texas House. In a vote of 121-23, they mostly turned their back on their fellow Republican.
Shortly after his impeachment, a stubborn Paxton asserted that he was not permitted to present defense witnesses or evidence.
“The fact that I was prohibited from presenting evidence to defend myself reveals that this shameful process was curated from the start as an act of political retribution,” Paxton has said of the proceedings.
Abbott has been silent and has not commented on the proceedings, possibly to avoid meddling in the process, despite Trump’s threat to “fight” the state House Republicans who deserted Paxton at the time.
In order for the 31-member Senate to find Paxton guilty on any of the counts, 21 votes are required. Before prosecutors can present the evidence, Paxton has made an unlikely request: he wants the Senate to throw down the articles of impeachment.
To convict Paxton, the Senate must vote with at least two-thirds of its 31 members. Paxton’s wife, Republican state senator Angela Paxton, is required to attend the trial but is unable to cast a ballot because of a conflict of interest.
The defendant’s attorney and the plaintiffs will cross-examine witnesses, present their cases, and address the senators in closing arguments, just like in a civil or criminal trial. The Senate will be presided over by Paxton’s buddy and fellow Republican Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
Since the House decided to remove Paxton from office, he has been placed on administrative leave without pay. If he is found not guilty of the accusations, he might be given his job back.
If found guilty, Paxton would lose his position. Paxton might, though, later seek re-election to the position of attorney general or to another one. If the Senate wanted to stop him from running for office in the state again, it would need to hold a second vote.
According to a recent poll, Texans are evenly split on the trial, as only 51% of registered voters saying that they think the attempt to kick him from office is justified in light of his behavior.
According to a poll from August, 7 in 10 Democrats and only 1 in 4 Republicans said Paxton should be ousted, showing how partisan the impeachment is viewed by the public.
Stay tuned to the Federalist Wire.
