Texas will hold a summer impeachment trial for embattled GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton

Ken Paxton
(Image credit: Eleanor Dearman / Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The Republican-led Texas House voted Saturday to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), immediately suspending him from office, and 12 newly appointed impeachment managers delivered the 20 articles of impeachment to the state Senate on Monday. The Senate then unanimously instructed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) to pick a date "not later than" Aug. 28 to start the trial. A seven-member committee will come up with recommendations on the rules of procedure for the trial and present them to the full Senate on June 20.

The articles of impeachment accuse Paxton of bribery, misuse of office, and other charges mostly related to whistleblower claims he bent his office to help a top donor in several way. The charges also nod to Paxton's unresolved 2015 state indictment on securities fraud and an ongoing FBI investigation. The House vote to impeach was 121-23, with 60 Republicans joining nearly every Democrat in approving the articles.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.