Texas House panel hits Attorney General Ken Paxton with 20 impeachment counts

The Republican-led Texas House could vote as soon as Friday on 20 articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed Thursday night by the House General Investigating Committee. The panel's three Republicans and two Democrats voted unanimously to recommend impeaching Paxton, and if a simple majority of their colleagues agree, the attorney general would be immediately suspended from office pending a trial in the Senate.
The 20 articles of impeachment include bribery, obstruction of justice, unfitness for office, abuse of public trust, and retaliation against whistleblowers. "In one sense, Paxton's political peril arrived with dizzying speed: The House committee investigation came to light Tuesday, followed the next day by an extraordinary public airing of alleged criminal acts he committed," The Associated Press reported. "But to Paxton's detractors, who now include a widening share of his own party in the Texas Capitol, the rebuke was years in the making."
Most of the impeachment counts stem from allegations from eight top Paxton staffers that he abused his office to help a top donor, Nate Paul, but they also stretch back as far as a pending securities fraud case that led to his indictment in 2015. Those felony securities charges, for which he has pleaded not guilty and not yet stood trial, carry a potential sentence of five to 99 years in prison. Paxton has also been under FBI investigation since 2020.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's not clear how the House will vote. "For Democrats, the calculus is simple: They have cast Paxton as corrupt for years and will likely be unanimous in support of impeachment," The Texas Tribune reported. "Republicans must wrestle with whether to indict a top state official in their own party, one who is popular with conservative voters and who survived a primary last year in which opponents tried to tar him with similar allegations of misconduct."
If the House impeaches Paxton, it would take two-thirds of senators to permanently remove him from office. It's not clear if Paxton's wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R), would serve as a senator-juror in her husband's trial, the Tribune reported. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who would preside over a Senate trial, told WFAA's "Inside Texas Politics" Thursday night that senators would "all be responsible as any juror would be," and he thinks "the members will do their duty."
Paxton argued Thursday that state law restricts impeachment to actions taken since the last election, so the House charges are illegal. He also said the House investigations committee declined to hear his side of the story. Paxton would be only the third official impeached in the state's 200-year history, after Gov. James "Pa" Ferguson in 1917 and state District Judge O.P. Carrillo in 1975.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Doctors sound the alarm about insurance company ‘downcoding’
The Explainer ‘It’s blatantly disrespectful,’ one doctor said
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections
-
News organizations reject Pentagon restrictions
Speed Read The proposed policy is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest move to limit press access at the Pentagon