Texas House votes to impeach Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton
AUSTIN, Texas (CBSNewsTexas.com/AP) — The Texas House of Representatives voted Saturday to impeach scandal-plagued Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, triggering his immediate suspension from duties and setting up a trial that could permanently remove the state's top lawyer from office.
The historic vote came after a months-long House investigation into the three-term attorney general that resulted in 20 charges alleging sweeping abuses of power, including obstruction of justice, bribery and abuse of public trust.
Paxton, 60, is just the third sitting official to be impeached in the state's nearly 200-year history.
The matter now moves to the Republican-controlled state Senate. A two-thirds vote by the 31-member Senate would be enough to remove him from office. Paxton's wife, two-term state Sen. Angela Paxton, could be among those casting a vote on her husband's political future.
Paxton has criticized the impeachment effort as an attempt to "overthrow the will of the people and disenfranchise the voters of our state." He has said the charges are based on "hearsay and gossip, parroting long-disproven claims."
He has since released the following statement:
I am beyond grateful to have the support of millions of Texans who recognize that what we just witnessed is illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust. I look forward to a quick resolution in the Texas Senate, where I have full confidence the process will be fair and just. pic.twitter.com/fEiAroA2DW
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) May 27, 2023