Texas House Votes to Impeach Republican State AG Ken Paxton in Historic Vote

For only the third time in the state's history, a sitting official in Texas has been impeached as its House of Representatives voted to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over corruption charges.

The articles of impeachment that the Republican-led state House levied against Paxton included bribery and abuse of public trust. The embattled AG is currently being investigated by the FBI and has faced an investigation by the Texas House of Representatives before the impeachment happened. He has also been indicted on securities fraud charges after defrauding investors of a tech startup.

According to the Associated Press, because he is now impeached, Ken Paxton will now undergo trial in the state Senate and is now suspended from office. The suspension also means that Texas Governor Greg Abbott needs to appoint somebody else as an interim Texas Attorney General.

The vote was not even close, with a final tally of 121 voting to impeach Paxton, with 23 voting against. Of the 121, 60 were Paxton's fellow Republicans.

"Attorney General Paxton abused his office and his power for personal gain," said state Rep. David Spiller, another Republican. "He put the interests of himself over the laws of the state of Texas."

Donald Trump, Ted Cruz Defend Texas AG Ken Paxton as Republican Rift in Texas Shows

Ken Paxton has been portrayed as one of the most corrupt officials in state history, accused of helping a donor by using the resources of his office, firing prosecutors in retaliation for reporting his wrongdoing, and of course, fraud. Despite all these allegations, however, some of the more far-right-leaning Republicans are standing by the embattled state official.

Before the historic vote at the Texas House, Paxton ally and former president, Donald Trump, took to Truth Social and wrote "Free Ken Paxton." He also vowed to "fight" GOP lawmakers who voted for impeachment, according to Mother Jones.

US Senator Ted Cruz, another Ken Paxton ally, also came to his defense. He called the impeachment process "a travesty" and added that the embattled AG's legal troubles should have been left to the courts.

This showed a divide in the Republican party in the Lone Star State, with the more moderate Republicans like State House Speaker Dade Phelan being one of Trump's biggest critics in the state while impeached AG Ken Paxton being one of his biggest supporters.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and His Legal Troubles

Texas AG Ken Paxton has been facing years of investigation even before he was impeached, with the Texas Tribune pointing out that he had been fighting criminal securities fraud charges for most of his tenure. The first indictment even came within less than a year after he was sworn into office.

He reportedly persuaded investors to buy stock in Servergy, Inc. However, he allegedly did not disclose that he would be compensated for it. Paxton has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.

He is also accused of bribery by some of the Texas Attorney General's Office's top employees and then firing them as retaliation. The Texas AG officials believe that their then-boss broke the law by using the agency to serve the interests of political donor Nate Paul. Paxton allegedly used his office's resources to investigate Paul's adversaries and help settle a lawsuit.

He also has other scandals, including helping Donald Trump try to overturn the 2020 elections, as well as being sued by the whistleblowers in his bribery case after he fired them.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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